Topic
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.
Large supply of homes due to come online soon in Hong Kong will, hopefully, help thwart the rise of a new generation of speculators.
A worrying investigation by the consumer watchdog identified problems that will only deepen unless a fix is found.
Vigorous action against those who misuse city public flats is imperative to make room for the needy
- ‘We believe the policy stance of the Politburo has turned … more supportive to the property sector,’ says Nomura
- However, some observers worried the much-needed support might be too little too late
The capital city has relaxed rules on multiple home purchases after 13 years as part of the country’s effort to stimulate a stubbornly stagnant property market.
The number of Hongkongers with negative-equity loans stood at 32,073 in the first quarter of the year, tripling from the previous quarter and the most since some 40,000 cases were recorded in the first quarter of 2004.
Company leaders pledge to marshal resources carefully in 2024 as they strike a cautious tone about any potential recovery.
Buoyed by the brisk sales of flats following the removal of Hong Kong’s property cooling measures, the city’s developers have this year launched 4,800 new units as of last week, a seven-year high.
The measures effective from Monday range from the removal of restrictions on homebuyers to support for the funding needs of developers.
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.
Post report from 1947 states that concrete foundation is widely believed to house a sword, with its blade pointing towards Tokyo.
All 260 flats on offer at Onmantin were already on Saturday after the project received 7,500 orders from prospective buyers.
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.
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.
‘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.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said Kai Tak isolation centre at site of old airport could become ‘cultural and creative industry base’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
