Agents in California are having to look harder for Chinese buyers
Leading today’s headlines is the sudden disappearance of China’s cashed-up millionaires from the southern California property market, as the mainland’s capital controls hit home. Also in the news, James Packer’s Crown Resorts is backing away from plans to fill its Australian casinos with Chinese gamblers, and R&F Properties threatens legal action after Aussie courts forced the mainland developer to pay its bills. Read on for all these stories and more.
Are Chinese Homebuyers Abandoning California Dreams?
The mansion on Fallen Leaf Road in the secluded Upper Rancho neighborhood of Arcadia has all the trappings a wealthy buyer from China could want: a crystal chandelier in the entryway, marble floors, a home theater outfitted with a dozen reclining leather chairs and, naturally, a fortuitous eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
At $9.8 million, the recently built property is a relative bargain. A similar-sized home in Beijing would cost twice as much. Read more>>
Packer’s Crown Resorts Abandons Mainland Marketing Plan After Arrests
Crown Resorts Ltd. is dialing back efforts to attract Chinese high-rollers to its Australian casinos, as Beijing’s graft crackdown and the recent arrests of Crown employees in China cast a shadow over the industry.
Executive Chairman John Alexander told analysts on a conference call Thursday that Crown is “waiting to see how that plays out before we resume a traditional marketing pattern in the region.” The comments came after Crown reported a 6% drop in fiscal-first-half revenue and a 45% dive in VIP play at its Australian casinos. Read more>>
R&F Talks Vengeance After Aussie Developer Wins in Court
The Australian arm of multi-billion-dollar Chinese developer R&F Properties is threatening legal action against a former creditor after its court-ordered liquidation order was lifted.
R&F Development Holdings has engaged high-profile lawyer Leon Zwier, a partner at Arnold Bloch Leibler Lawyers, to “pursue its legal rights” over the stoush, as it announced it would implement new systems to improve communication and track invoices. Read more>>
Hong Kong Existing Home Prices Reach Record, Despite Stamp Duty
Hong Kong’s existing home prices have climbed to a record, fueled by a surge in demand from local buyers and investors despite taxes and mortgage curbs designed to rein in prices.
The Centaline Property Centa-City Leading Index, which tracks sales in the secondary market, rose to 147.74 for the week ended Feb. 19, surpassing the previous high of 146.92 reached in September 2015. The index has rebounded 16 percent since home prices bottomed at the end of March. Read more>>
Singapore’s OUE Aims at Healthcare Market
Integrated property developer OUE Limited announced its intention to launch a mandatory unconditional cash offer for International Healthway Corporation Limited. The offer is to purchase a further 593,470,029 shares, representing 35.77% of the share capital of IHC.
According to OCBC Investment Research, OUE currently owns a 57.6% aggregate stake in IHC, which makes its offer unconditional. Read more>>
Hong Kong Ramps Up Land Supply for 2017-2018
The land supply for private housing in the coming financial year is expected to be sufficient to build almost 32,000 flats, exceeding the government target for the fourth consecutive year.
The government’s plan to sell 28 plots of land for private housing in 2017-18 is expected to provide almost 19,000 flats, while the remainder will come from railway property, urban renewal and private redevelopment projects. Read more>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter for headlines as they happen.
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