Topic

Property policiesi

Due to ample liquidity, property in Asian markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong has been driven relentlessly higher for years. As a result, governments have introduced property-cooling measures.  On the other hand, Chinese government started easing restrictions such as lowering the down payment for second homebuyers to improve the real estate sector. Western countries also impose different policies against foreign property buying.

Advertisement
  • Conversion of office buildings in Hong Kong into data centres for large tech firms is ‘quite rare and becoming rarer’, PGIM executive says
  • However, with data centres becoming their own investment segment, those who have allocated capital for such investments are likely to reap gains
Advertisement
Advertisement

Prices of second-hand homes have increased for the first time in almost a year as the recent removal of cooling measures gave a much-needed boost to the beleaguered property market.

videocam

The first 18 office units have been priced from HK$7.2 million to HK$22.7 million, or around HK$12,000 to HK$14,000 per square foot, NWD said in a statement on Thursday.

Hong Kong’s economic recovery is slowly filling up retail spaces, pushing vacancy rates to a three-year low. The rebound, however, is bypassing the northwestern part of the city in Yuen Long and Sheung Shui.

Property agents have raised sales forecasts for the year amid project launches at discounted prices, but say a lack of a rate cut could pare those estimates.

Prices weakened in March, extending sequential erosion since May 2023. China’s efforts to stem declines in home prices have not produced the desired results, prompting Goldman Sachs to predict a more aggressive policy response.

videocam

Rents in Singapore’s office market rose in the first three months of the year, shaking off two consecutive quarters of declines as some tenants snapped up limited premium spaces and others renewed their leases instead of relocating owing to cost considerations, according to Colliers.

videocam

Lianjia has teamed up with coffee chain operator Manner to open a cafe in one of its outlets in Shanghai, launching a crossover marketing campaign to drive transactions amid lack of homebuying interest.

videocam

The city’s commercial real estate market recovered partially in the first quarter of 2024 and is gearing up for further stabilisation this year as a rebound in consumption and policy support drive demand for leasing and investment, analysts say.

Troubled property developer Shimao Group Holdings is facing a liquidation suit brought by China Construction Bank, the country’s second-largest lender, for a financial obligation amounting to around HK$1.58 billion (US$201.8 million).

videocam

Sales of pre-owned homes in 25 major cities jumped by nearly 25 per cent in January and February, compared with the same period in 2022, as activity is on the rise in top-tier cities, analysts say.

The launch of Blue Coast marks the biggest residential offering since the city government removed property curbs and relaxed its mortgage policies in February.

Even in the absence of the buying restrictions, a healthy supply and elevated interest rates mean the city’s infamously expensive house prices are unlikely to return to the kind of breakneck growth seen in the past, analysts say.

videocam

The government will provide millions in funding to make it easier and cheaper to build new homes, with an emphasis on prefabricated modular units.

Transactions involving lived-in homes in Shanghai shot up in March as owners offered discounts to bargain hunters, but the outlook for the city’s housing market remains cloudy due to concerns about a bleak economy.

Hong Kong property sales rose to a 10-month high in March, surpassing 5,000 deals a month after the government lifted all property cooling measures, data from the government shows.

Prices of second-hand homes in 100 mainland cities fell in March, extending a sequential monthly drop that began in April 2022 as buyers held out for better terms.

videocam

Hong Kong has been shut out of the rankings in a survey of innovation and concentration of talent in which cities in the Asia-Pacific region took five of the top 10 spots.

videocam

Chinese developers suffered another dismal month in March as new home sales tumbled 46 per cent from a year earlier. It would be premature to expect a turnaround amid an ongoing liquidity crisis.

videocam

Housing director Rosanna Law says she is ‘not very worried’ about slowdown in subsidised homes market and highlights number of people ‘waiting in line’ for public flats.

Distressed Chinese property developer downplays the possibility of a liquidation after it hired the financial advisory firm to assess the amount of money creditors could recover in such an event.

China’s troubled property market is on track for a gradual return to stability despite the many challenges it still faces, China Resources Land said as it posted close to a 12 per cent profit gain for 2023.

videocam