Home Prices Rose in China’s Biggest Cities in December and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Despite six months of policies restricting sales, 59 of 70 cities surveyed by the Chinese government still reported rising home prices last month as homebuyers do not yet seem deterred over reports of rising risk in the market. Also in the news today, one of the buyers of strata title floors in Hong Kong’s the Center found a clever way to ride out the current dip in office deals – by leasing the asset to a public company controlled by her family. All these stories and more await you below.

Home Prices Rose in China’s Biggest Cities in December

China’s home prices remained buoyant in December as big cities rebounded, a sign that Beijing’s efforts to support its slowing economy may be putting a floor on the real estate market.

Investors have been closely watching China’s property markets for further signs of cooling after tough curbs were put in place to rein in sky-high prices. A sharp slowdown in the key sector could prompt policymakers to turn to more forceful economic stimulus despite risks of a housing bubble. Read more>>

Kingston Leases Pollyanna Chu’s Floor in HK’s the Centre Above Market Rate

Pollyanna Chu Lee Yuet-wah, Hong Kong’s wealthiest woman, has leased a floor she owns in the city’s most expensive office tower to a publicly traded company she co-founded with her husband for a premium to the market price.

Level 72 of The Center on Queen’s Road Central, owned by Chu, was leased to Kingston Financial Group for HK$109 million (US$13.89 million) over three years, including a three-month rent-free period, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Read more>>

GLP-Backed Indospace to Develop Three Gujarat Logistics Parks

Everstone-promoted IndoSpace Tuesday said it will invest Rs 650 crore in Gujarat to develop three logistic parks over the next three years.

IndoSpace has announced its foray into the state with start of construction work at its first logistic park in Bavla near Ahmedabad.The park is located close to the industrial hubs of Sanand and Changodar and has easy access to Kandla and Mundra ports.

With rising demand of industrial space, IndoSpace is planning to build two more logistics parks in Gujarat with a total leasable area of 1.5 million sq ft. Read more>>

Sunac and Longfor Bosses Part of China Family Trust Rush

Four Chinese tycoons transferred more than $17 billion of their wealth into family trusts late last year, underscoring how the rich are scrambling to protect their fortunes from the nation’s newly toughened tax regime.

The latest example came from billionaire Sun Hongbin, chairman of real-estate developer Sunac China Holdings Ltd., who disclosed in a filing in Hong Kong on Jan. 12 that he shifted most of his stake in the company to South Dakota Trust Co. on Dec. 31. Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. Read more>>

57% of Fund Investors Intend to Up Allocations to APAC Real Estate

Over half of institutional investors globally, or some 57 per cent, intend to increase their allocations to Asia-Pacific real estate over the next two years, a survey showed.

According to the latest Investment Intentions Survey of institutional investors and funds of funds managers published by ANREV, INREV and PREA, European investors are the most bullish on the Asia-Pacific, with 69 per cent of those polled looking to increase allocations to real estate in that timeframe, followed by 50 per cent of US investors. Read more>>

Jalan Sultan Owners Try for S$380M Collective Sale in SG

The owners of the Sultan Plaza commercial building along Jalan Sultan have launched a public tender for a collective sale with a reserve price of $380 million.

The 99-year leasehold development, which was built in the 1970s, sits on 52,471 sq ft of land. The maximum permissible gross floor area can be redeveloped to 283,803 sq ft, referenced against the 5.30 gross plot ratio of neighbouring City Gate and subject to regulatory approval. Read more>>

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