Wee Liat Lee of BNP Paribas is also predicting good things for China’s property market this year
The world’s best known investment bank is giving a big thumbs up to the mainland’s prospects for a property recovery, but down in Hong Kong developers are predicting tough times as luxury rental rates are now following home prices downward. Also China’s richest man is packaging up his big Hollywood prize for a quick profit, and Shanghai aims to increase the housing supply by making apartments smaller.
Goldman Sachs Expects China Property Rebound to Spread in Q2
China’s property prices may stabilise in the second quarter of this year, thanks to recent intensive policies to drive housing demand across the country and lower inventory levels, analysts say.
The central government has recently introduced a raft of measures to bolster the sluggish property market, including cutting the minimum mortgage down payment to 20 per cent for first home buyers, lowering the deed tax of property transactions, and waiving business tax on properties sold after two years of purchases. Read more>>
Rents Falling Fast as Hong Kong Slowdown Spreads to Luxury Leasing
Rents at blue-chip housing estates are falling faster than home prices as a growing number of middle-class families start to cut their accommodation budget in anticipation of salary cuts amid a bleak economic outlook.
Industry experts forecast residential rents will plunge as much as 15 per cent this year. Rents at Taikoo Shing – a housing estate targeting middle class families with household income of HK$80,000 to HK$100,000 a month – have fallen 16 per cent from their peak in October last year compared with an overall 11 per cent drop in home prices over the same period. Read more>>
Shanghai Sets Rules for Smaller Homes as Housing Prices Soar
Shanghai officials have issued a new policy aimed at forcing developers to increase the supply of small and mid-sized units in an effort to prevent the city’s housing market from overheating, with analysts expecting even stricter policies to be introduced to rein in the market.
The city government said on Tuesday that developers would be required to ensure that at least 70 per cent of units built in Shanghai’s urban area were no bigger than 100 square metres, with the ratio rising to 80 per cent around subway stations and falling to 60 per cent in suburban areas. Read more>>
Sino Land Chief Sees Headwinds on the Way for HK
Hong Kong may face more economic headwinds, the chairman of leading property developer Sino Land, Robert Ng Chee Siong, said on Wednesday.
His warning about the city’s outlook came as the company announced a 75.44 per cent rise in its underlying profit, excluding revaluation items, to HK$3 billion for six months to the end of December thanks to strong property sales. Read more>>
Wang Jianlin to Flip Hollywood Studio to Mainland PE Investors
With the ink hardly dry on its $3.5 billion deal for Hollywood filmmaker Legendary Entertainment, Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Co. is already shopping a piece to local investors.
Wanda Group is seeking to raise $1.5 billion from domestic Chinese investors for Wanda Pictures at a $5.3 billion valuation, according to a document prepared as part of the offering. Wanda Pictures comprises Wanda’s own movie-production business and Legendary Entertainment, which the Chinese conglomerate agreed to buy in January. Read more>>
HK Tied With Detroit as 70th Best Place to Live
Hong Kong has been ranked 70th in a study on quality of living in cities around the world despite the social unrest it has been experiencing. The city came in at the same spot as the American city of Detroit.
American human resources consultancy firm Mercer awarded scores to 230 cities worldwide between September and November last year based on 39 factors which expatriates regarded as important to their quality of life. These included political stability, economic environment, education, health and housing. Read more>>
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