The value of mortgage insurance rose to HK$13.71 billion (US$1.75 billion) in April, the most since HK$16.07 billion in June last year, data from mortgage broker mReferral shows.

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.

Shenzhen and Wuhan have become the latest Chinese cities to ease home purchase restrictions to boost sales, as a growing number of major metropolises take steps to support the country’s slumping property sector.

The mixed-use project, close to Fanling and Sheung Shui, will include a residential component with some 2,000 flats. It will cover 150,000 sq ft and will have a total buildable floor area of over 1 million sq ft.

More than half of middle-income households in Hong Kong believe house prices are poised to rally now that all of the restrictions in the market have been scrapped, according to a survey by Citibank.

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.

Mainland Chinese buyers account for anywhere from 30 per cent up to 80 per cent of the sales in some recent launches, agents say, raising hopes that their buying power will bring price stability to the market.

Hong Kong’s property transactions came close to a three-year high in April, with 9,880 units changing hands according to official data, as the removal of cooling measures continued to boost demand.

A new wave of property stimulus measures is brewing that should fuel a recovery in market sentiment across China as the country’s top decision-makers pledged to tackle housing inventories, according to analysts.

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 appetite of mainland Chinese firms for premium space was not enough to stem a steady increase in the vacancy rate as more office premises came online and overall demand shrank.

Media freedom advocates warn of public discourse being stifled after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for action to be taken against sources in a contentious news report.

Hongkongers are less willing to buy homes amid price increases at new launches by developers, analysts said after Great Eagle Holdings announced a new higher price list for another 150 units at its Onmantin project on Monday.

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.

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.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has denied a report of such a plan, saying “those who raised the issue of a casino licence lied”.

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.

All 260 flats on offer at Onmantin were already on Saturday after the project received 7,500 orders from prospective buyers.

Adriel Chan, 41, succeeds his father Ronnie Chan as chairman of Hang Lung Group, one of Hong Kong’s biggest commercial landlords.

Reports of the casino proposal sparked controversy and opposition in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where gambling is taboo

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.

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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.

Some analysts have expressed concern that buyers may hesitate to purchase homes should the rate cut not materialise this year.

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.