New HK Office Leases Drop 30% in March and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

China’s first quarter surge of liquidity is already helping to boost mainland home prices, but relief may not yet have spread beyond its borders, judging by reports from around the region this week. In Hong Kong, a paucity of mainland tenants is being blamed for a lull in office leasing, while in Singapore the value of new investment deals fell 52 percent in the first three months of year. Back on the mainland, however, Asia’s biggest housing market is already pushing up green shoots. Read on for the details on these stories and more.

HK Grade A Office Leases Fell 30% in March

New office lease activity in Hong Kong dropped by nearly a third in March – the most in five months – amid softening demand from mainland Chinese companies, JLL’s latest report showed.

The 30 per cent drop in office lettings pushed up the overall available space to 95,700 square feet or 4.8 per cent, up from 4.7 per cent recorded in February. Rents, however, held up, rising 0.3 per cent month on month. They were given a boost by grade A office rents in Central, which increased by 0.5 per cent. Read more>>

China Home Prices Grow 0.6% in March

New home prices in China grew slightly faster in March after growth slowed the previous month, putting a floor on the cooling market, as Beijing rolled out stimulus to boost the economy.

The sector’s solid growth could cushion the impact of a vigorous multi-year government crackdown on debt and escalating trade tensions with the United States, although some analysts say bubble risks are rising as prices continue to climb. Read more>>

Singapore Investment Deals Dropped 52% in Q1

Real estate investment sales in Singapore fell 52 per cent year on year to $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2019, on cooling in the latest bout of en bloc fever and from residential property curbs.

This is according to a Colliers International research report released on Tuesday (April 16). The corresponding period in 2018 had seen a record level of residential collective sales, Colliers noted. Read more>>

UOB Extends $$242M Loan for ESR Japan Project

Logistics real estate company ESR has obtained a 20 billion yen (S$242 million) loan from United Overseas Bank (UOB) to partially fund ESR’s acquisition of a plot of land in Yokohama, Japan, to be developed into a billion-dollar distribution centre.

UOB’s Tokyo branch and ESR Sachiura TMKs inked the non-recourse financing facility agreement. Read more>>

Former Citi Group Building Near Mumbai Expected to Fetch $43M

At least a dozen prospective buyers have placed bids which could go as high as $43 million to buy Citi Centre, erstwhile headquarters of US-based banking major Citibank in the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai’s Bandra suburb a source said.

Among these bidders are US-based private equity fund manager Blackstone, Singaporean sovereign fund GIC, the K Raheja Corp, Mirae Asset Management, Godrej Fund Management, the property arm of Interglobe Aviation and Kotak Realty Fund, said the source. Read more>>

Singapore Firms Invested $3.5B in Indian Real Estate in 2017-2018

Singapore-based investors are betting big on India’s commercial realty and other sunshine sectors, including logistics and warehousing, real estate consulting firm ANAROCK said in a report.

Top Singapore-based private equity (PE) firms such as GIC, Ascendas-Singbridge and Xander are funnelling billions of dollars into India’s realty sector, particularly in South Indian cities, according to the report. Read more>>

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