Hong Kong Developers Undercut Rivals to Lure Homebuyers

Wing Tai chairman Cheng Wai Keung needed to buy a hotel in Tokyo to take his mind off the steep discounts on homes his company is offering in Hong Kong

Hong Kong home sales lead the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today as developers take drastic measures to lure reluctant buyers back to the market, with some slashing prices by up to 20 percent, while a Singapore-listed developer chalks up RMB 1.34 billion in pre-sales on the mainland.

In other news around the region, a smartphone retailer wages war on Huawei with a RMB 5 billion “retail iron army”, and a mainland developer makes a rare trip to Japan to buy a hotel.

Elsewhere, a vacant office building down under is offloaded by a Chinese developer, and private equity is pouring into India real estate.

Hong Kong Developers Undercut Rivals to Lure Back Homebuyers

Hong Kong developers, taking advantage of the calm that has returned to the city, on Thursday launched projects at prices that undercut rivals by up to 20 percent, hoping to attract buyers who have adopted a cautious approach.

Wing Tai Properties said it would sell flats at OMA OMA in Tuen Mun at an average price of HK$12,463 per square foot, some 20 per cent lower than Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Mount Regency phase two, which is also in the same area. Read more>>

Yanlord Chalks Up RMB 1.34B in Pre-Sales for Shenzhen Project

Yanlord Land sold 283 apartment units during its first launch over the weekend at Yanlord Four Seasons Gardens in Shenzhen at RMB 51,000 ($7,450) per square metre.

The units sold chalked up pre-sales of about RMB 1.34 billion for the 26,300 square metres in gross floor area sold. Read more>>

Xiaomi to Launch New Stores in RMB 5B Retail Push

Xiaomi plans to spend RMB 5 billion ($725 million) to open more retail stores across China, according to a Xiaomi internal meeting reported by Bloomberg and Chinese media.

In a video clip of the meeting circulating online, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said that the company is building a “new retail iron army,” and that victory in the China market will be determined in three years. Read more>>

Wing Tai Buys Tokyo Hotel for 4.25B Yen

Wing Tai Holdings is acquiring the Red Planet Hotel Asakusa Tokyo from GK Rio Grande for a consideration of 4.25 billion yen ($53.6 million).

The hotel has 134 rooms across 13 floors, and was acquired by Wing Tai through Winrise (Japan) TMK, a newly incorporated special purpose company. Read more>>

PE Funds Pour $9.7B into India Real Estate

Private equity (PE) funds have pumped nearly $9.7 billion into Indian real estate sector between the first quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2019, of which southern cities account for the maximum interest from investors.

Logistics and warehousing saw an investment of $1.1 billion during the period. The usual favourite of PE funds – residential real estate – saw equal inflows of $1.1 billion, while commercial real estate saw nearly $5.7 billion of PE funding during the two-year period. Read more>>

China’s Dahua Sells Vacant Sydney Office for A$16M

Dahua Group has offloaded a vacant three-storey office building on King Street in Sydney’s CBD for A$16 million ($11 million).

The property group bought the corner building at 25 King Street for $4.6 million in 2009 and spent $7.4 million to refurbish it. Read more>>

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