Hong Kong Home Prices Take Biggest Jump in 13 Months and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Hong Kong residents haven’t had much to cheer about this year, but the reduction in the coronavirus threat and cheaper credit was apparently enough to lure many of them into home purchases with housing prices in May rising at the fastest pace in over a year.

Also in the news today, hotels are being offered for sale at discounted prices in Japan and Bali, and Singapore puts a new residential site on the market as the city continues to open up.

Hong Kong Private Home Prices Rose 1.9% in May

Hong Kong private home prices gained 1.9 per cent in May, their fastest pace of growth in more than a year, helped by low interest rates and pent up demand as the economy gradually picked up after the Covid-19 outbreak.

May’s gain comes after April’s revised 0.1 per cent fall, government data showed on Tuesday. Home transaction volumes continued to recover in June, set to reach the highest since May 2019, realtor Centaline said. Read more>>

Investors Hunt for Hotel Bargains in Japan

The Covid-19 pandemic has savaged the already fragile Japanese economy, pushing it to the brink of technical recession.

However, sentiment in the country’s real estate sector remains positive, with institutional investors hoping bargains will emerge as hoteliers and other owners sell off cheap to raise much-needed cash. Read more>>

Hong Kong Government Bails Out Property Brokerages

Hong Kong’s top property agencies are among the latest batch of more than 33,000 employers claiming subsidy under the coronavirus relief package, as the city’s bustling property market takes a beating from the pandemic-induced slowdown.

Midland Holdings, the parent of the city’s biggest property brokerage Midland Realty, together with its eight subsidiaries and affiliate companies had applied for nearly HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) under the Employment Support Scheme, according to the second list published on Monday. The Hong Kong government announced the bailout package on April 8 for the city’s struggling businesses affected by the coronavirus-induced economic downturn. Read more>>

Singapore’s First REIT Cancels Indonesia Hospital Acquisition

A wholly-owned subsidiary of First Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit) has served a termination notice to a Lippo Karawaci subsidiary to scrap an agreement for the development of a hospital in Surabaya, First Reit’s manager said late on Monday (June 29).

The First Reit unit, Tata Prima Indah, and wholly-owned Lippo Karawaci subsidiary Saputra Karya entered into the development works agreement on Oct 20, 2015, to build the hospital, which was to be an improved healthcare facility to replace the ageing Siloam Hospitals Surabaya. Read more>>

865 Unit Residential Site Up for Tender in Singapore

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Tuesday (June 30) launched a “dual envelope” tender of a choice site at Jalan Anak Bukit for a landmark residential and commercial development with a bus interchange to help rejuvenate the Beauty World area.

The 3.2 hectare site in Upper Bukit Timah can yield 865 private housing units, which can be flats or serviced apartments, or a combination of both. Read more>>

Bali Hotels for Sale on the Cheap

Gone are the Australian surfers and Chinese tour groups. Also missing are yoga aficionados seeking inner peace, like Julia Roberts in “Eat Pray Love”.

With no tourists and no income courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic, struggling hotel owners on the Indonesian resort island of Bali have been forced to put their properties up for sale. Given the dire state of the market, some may have to stomach a loss. For investors with a long view, it’s a chance to grab a slice of paradise on the cheap. Read more>>

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

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