Goodman Group chief executive Greg Goodman
Data centres again lead the day’s look at real estate headlines from around the region, as Goodman Group picks up a site in Silicon Valley. Also in the news, Australia’s largest pension fund is betting on UK housing demand and Singapore’s Equalbase takes on a Greater Seoul warehouse project.
Goodman Spends $200M to Buy San Jose Data Centre Site Next to Microsoft Project
A significant chunk of land and buildings next to a site where Microsoft is eyeing possible data centres in north San Jose was purchased for $200 million, documents show.
The 46.8 acres (19 hectares) of land near the corner of Trimble Road and Orchard Parkway was bought in an all-cash deal through an affiliate of Goodman Management USA, a subsidiary of Australian developer Goodman Group, according to documents filed on 30 September at the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office. Read more>>
AustralianSuper Launches $670M UK Living Sector Platform
Australia’s largest superannuation fund said Monday that it has launched a UK living sector investment platform with an initial investment of £500 million ($670 million) and a goal of becoming one of the top five operators of rental housing in Britain within the next five years.
The platform’s first investment is a student housing development in Bristol, with contractors on site and a target completion in 2027. AustralianSuper said it is actively assessing opportunities, focused on locations in high-demand urban centres anchored by research-led universities and high-growth industries. Read more>>
Singapore’s Equalbase Building Greater Seoul Warehouse for Korean Logistics Firm
Equalbase will construct a logistics centre in Gyeonggi province near Seoul for ACT & Co Logistics, according to local news coverage citing a statement from the Singaporean industrial developer and fund manager.
The Yangju logistics centre will have a gross floor area of 38,000 square metres (409,029 square feet), with two underground floors and four above-ground floors, and aims to achieve LEED Gold certification. Read more>>
Japan’s Obayashi to Buy US Data Centre Builder GCON
Japanese construction group Obayashi has agreed to purchase US data centre builder GCON and a pair of affiliated companies in a bid to capture growing demand for infrastructure from the artificial intelligence sector.
The value of the acquisition was not disclosed, but it is believed to be worth tens of billions of Japanese yen (10 billion yen equals $66.4 million) and is expected to be completed as early as mid-November. Founded in 2003, GCON is headquartered in Arizona and operates there and in New Mexico. Read more>>
Mandarin Oriental Shares Jump on Jardines Privatisation Offer
Shares of hotel chain Mandarin Oriental surged 36.7 percent on Tuesday on the back of a privatisation offer from controlling shareholder Jardine Matheson, whose shares also jumped.
The investment company said last Friday that it was moving to take Mandarin Oriental private in a recommended cash takeover valued at $3.35 per share, bringing the hotel group’s total valuation to $4.2 billion. Read more>>
Mainland Buyers Accounted for 25% of Hong Kong Home Sales in Q3
Mainland Chinese homebuyers remain a strong driving force in Hong Kong’s residential property market, spending HK$38 billion ($4.9 billion) to account for 25 percent of the city’s total home transactions in the third quarter, according to Centaline Property Agency.
Buyers with names in pinyin — the mainland’s system of romanisation of Chinese script — registered 3,797 deals between July and September, up 7 percent from the previous quarter, Centaline said Monday. Read more>>
Hong Kong Office Vacancy to Hit 19% by Year-End Says CBRE
Office vacancy in Hong Kong is expected to reach 19 percent by year’s end, with full-year rents falling 4 to 5 percent, as new supply continues to weigh on the sector, according to CBRE.
Office vacancy inched down 0.3 percent quarterly to 17.1 percent in the third quarter, while rents recorded a decrease of 0.7 percent, signalling a slowdown trend. As office supply is projected to fall next year, vacancy rates and rents will not get worse in the following periods, the consultancy said. Read more>>
Seoul Residential Rents Hit New High as Policy Measures Curb Homebuying
The average monthly rent of apartments in Seoul hit KRW 1,440,000 ($1,010) in September, a new all-time high, as new policies designed to deter home speculation increased pressure on the leasing market.
The figure represents an increase of KRW 100,000 from January this year, according to the Korea Real Estate Agency. After regulations introduced in June limited mortgage loans to KRW 600 million, more tenants want to maintain or renew lease contracts, analysts say. Read more>>
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