Hong Kong is missing out on an office investment boom in the Asia-Pacific region this year as a supply glut and high vacancy rates put investors off the segment, according to analysts.

Luxury homes – categorised as those priced over 15 million rupees – made up more than one-fifth of all residential units sold across India’s seven top cities in the first quarter.

Travel spending during the Labour Day holiday rose 12.7 per cent year on year, but hotel chains’ revenue per available room and occupancy rates both fell.

Hangzhou’s move marks the most aggressive measure to revive the local housing market, following an apparent green light from the nation’s top leadership last month.

The appetite for commercial property in Asia-Pacific is likely to remain subdued until interest-rate cuts arrive later this year or early next year, according to a CBRE survey. Investors in Hong Kong were notable net sellers last quarter.

More than 9 million ‘akiya’ homes – 13.8 per cent of all Japan’s residential properties – have been left empty after owners die, a new report found.

Sales of the units, which ranged from 340 sq ft to 783 sq ft at HK$18,597 to HK$28,350 per square foot, were suspended after a red rain signal on Saturday.

Company leaders pledge to marshal resources carefully in 2024 as they strike a cautious tone about any potential recovery.

High inflation and elevated borrowing costs are dampening the attractiveness of leveraged private-market investments, but institutional investors across Asia-Pacific are still determined to increase their allocations in private assets, State Street says.

Rising demand for data centres is unlikely to provide relief for Hong Kong landlords and asset owners looking to convert their empty office spaces into industrial property, US asset manager PGIM Real Estate says.

‘It’s overall a pretty outstanding location, and pretty outstanding locations will be successful,’ Christian Ulbrich says.

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.

Philippine chain Hotel101 Global targets 1 million rooms and a presence in more than 100 countries after signing an agreement to merge with a Hong Kong company, which aims to list on Nasdaq in New York.

A total of 130, or 70 per cent, of the 184 units on offer were sold on Saturday, according to sales agents.

The proposal to buy Far East Shopping Centre fell through after a firm linked to Du failed to get approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

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.

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.

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).

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.

‘Foreign investor appetite could not be stronger for Japan at the moment,’ JLL analyst says.

Grace Wee Jingsi, the youngest child of United Overseas Bank Ltd. CEO Wee Ee Cheong, is taking advantage of a lull in the city state’s high-end housing market to buy a ‘good class bungalow’, according to property filings.

The third price list covers 174 units and is 1.73 per cent higher than the first price list. CK Asset released the first price list for 138 units last Friday and a second one for 110 units last Saturday.