Luckin Coffee to Open 2,500 New Mainland Stores and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

The race for the hearts and wallets of China’s coffee addicts leads today’s real estate news as venture-backed Luckin Coffee says it will open 2,500 new stores this year. That optimistic worldview may not be shared by China Overseas Land and Investment, which is pricing its latest Hong Kong project at about a third less than neighbouring developments, and in a proptech innovation that we can all welcome, residential property agents in Singapore will now have their deal records published online. Read on for the details on all these stories and more.

Luckin Coffee Aims to Displace Starbucks as China’s Biggest Coffee Seller

Chinese coffee startup Luckin is aiming to open 2,500 new stores this year and overtake Starbucks as the largest coffee chain by number of outlets in the world’s second-biggest economy, it said on Thursday.

The firm, which only officially launched its business at the start of last year, has expanded at breakneck speed, propelled by a focus on technology, delivery, and heavy discounting even at the cost of mounting losses. Read more>>

COLI Offering 32% Discount on Condos at New HK Project

Mainland developer China Overseas Land and Investment unveiled aggressive discounts at its new residential flats released in Tai Po on Thursday, in an effort to fend off competition amid rising supply and concerns of a spreading malaise in the city’s housing market.

In the first property sale of the new year, the developer priced the first 324 units at The Regent starting from HK$10,688 ($1,364) per square foot after discounts. Read more>>

Qingdao Eliminates Housing Lottery as Home Sales Slide

Chinese wanting to own a home in a Qingdao city district will no longer have to enter a lucky draw in order to buy, as authorities have suspended the lottery system introduced in June to curb speculation since the market has stabilised.

The policy change, announced on Thursday by Gaoxin district’s notary public office on its official social media account, took effect on Jan. 1. Read more>>

Cromwell REIT Buys 11 Finnish Office Properties for €113M

Singapore-listed Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (CEREIT) has acquired 11 freehold office properties in Finland for €113.1m.

Cromwell Property Group announced the transaction a day after revealing that CEREIT had bought two office properties in the Netherlands for €127.6m. Read more>>

Singapore Logistics Trust Signs Deal for Rooftop Solar on Warehouse Portfolio

Sembcorp Industries will install, own and operate three rooftop solar systems with a combined capacity of 7.9 MWp for Singaporean industrial real estate investor Cache Logistics Trust, the companies announced.

Over 20,000 solar panels will be installed on top of three Cache warehouse hubs in Singapore to produce about 9,400 MWh annually, enough to power more than 2,000 four-room apartments. Read more>>

Singapore to Make Property Agent Track Records Public

Would-be Housing Board buyers and sellers can now find out about any property agent’s track record with the click of a button.

On Friday, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) launched the Property Agents’ Transaction Records Initiative, which publishes the records of residential transactions facilitated by realtors here in the last two years. Read more>>

Tune in again after the weekend for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.