The Gramercy Ebisu was among 32 Japanese assets acquired by a Gaw-managed fund in May
A falling yen is helping to boost the appeal of Japanese real estate assets, according to Gaw Capital Partners, with a story on the Hong Kong private equity shop’s growing interest in Asia’s second-largest economy leading our headline roundup today. Also in the news, the strength of Singapore’s housing market has triggered another attempt at a collective sale of a luxury condo complex, and China’s residential woes continue to worry homebuyers and roil investors.
Gaw Capital Sees Opportunity in Japan’s Sliding Yen
Hong Kong-based real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners is increasing investments in Japan to as much as $4 billion in the next two years to take advantage of the weakening yen.
The asset manager will invest about $3.5 billion to $4 billion in Japan over the next 18 months to two years. That’s on top of $1.6 billion in the 18 months by June, according to the company. “We do think Japan is very attractive with the yen depreciation,” Isabella Lo, managing director and head of Japan investments said in an interview. “But it’s not just the yen, we also feel the yield spread is still more attractive than a lot of other markets.” Read more>>
Condo Complex in Singapore’s District 9 on Market for $130M
Trendale Tower, a freehold condo complex in Singapore’s swanky district 9, has been put up for sale again, this time with a higher guide price of S$178 million ($130 million) via a public tender exercise, said exclusive marketing agent Savills Singapore in a statement on Thursday (Aug 11).
Situated at 79 Cairnhill Road, the 20-storey development houses 18 apartments of 298 square metres each, which works out to S$2,386 per plot ratio after factoring in the 7 per cent bonus gross floor area for balconies. Read more>>
China’s High Rate of Housing Vacancy Adds to Market Risk
The average vacancy rate for homes across mainland China is 12.1 per cent, according to a BRI report released earlier this month. That compares with 11.1 per cent in the US and 9.8 per cent in Australia, and is far higher than in the UK, where only 0.9 per cent of houses are empty.
The rate translates to some 50 million unoccupied flats, if applied to a study last year by the economist Ren Zeping, formerly of the Development Research Center. By adding his his estimate made in 2020 to official figures for the number of houses built to completion since then, there are about 400 million homes in mainland China. Read more>>
Mainland Homebuyers Losing Patience with Delays in Home Completions
Newly married and with his first child on the way, auto worker Wang wanted to move into the apartment he bought in Wuhan 3 years ago but those hopes were dashed by China’s ballooning property crisis.
Saddled with US$300,000 in debt and with his unit nowhere near completion, the 34-year-old decided he had had enough and stopped making mortgage payments. Read more>>
Developers in China’s Hefei Province Ask Govt to Curb ‘Malicious Protests’
A group of property developers in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei urged the local government this month to crack down on what they described as “malicious protests” by homebuyers, according to a joint letter reviewed by Reuters.
The letter is one of the first known efforts by developers joining together to push back against a spreading revolt by homebuyers, who have threatened to stop paying mortgages on hundreds of unfinished housing projects. Read more>>
China Loan Activity Slides Despite Rate Cuts
China’s low interest rates are failing to spur lending in the economy, creating a challenge for policy makers as they try to bolster the nation’s fragile recovery. Central bank data on Friday showed a sharp slowdown in aggregate financing, a broad measure of credit, in July, as new loans and corporate bond issuance weakened.
At the same time, growth of M2, the broadest measure of money supply, accelerated more than expected to 12% in July. Taken together, the data shows banks are flush with cash but are struggling to boost lending to customers against the backdrop of weak growth and turmoil in the property market. Read more>>
Bursting Housing Bubble Adds to China Economic Woes
China’s deflating property bubble is imperiling the world’s second-largest economy with effects that could ripple for years.
Home prices are dropping in many cities after a long period of increases, data from Chinese real-estate developers and official statistics show. Sales of apartments nationwide by the country’s largest developers have slumped annually for 13 consecutive months, according to industry-data provider China Real Estate Information Corp. Read more>>
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