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.
The rural town of Lishui is allowing individuals to participate in a land auction in an experiment that, if successful, could be a model for other cities over time.
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.
- Shares in Shimao Group and Aoyuan Group, among others, jumped on Friday after Hangzhou and Xian joined the list of cities dropping curbs
- ‘Beijing is finally on the right course to clean up the mess in the property sector,’ Nomura analysts said on Friday
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.
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.
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 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).
