Hong Kong Property Deals Hit 21-Year High in First Five Months of 2018

Property purchases in Hong Kong reached a 21-year high over the past five months

Leading today’s Hong Kong real estate news, the total spend on property in the city reached HK$300 billion in the first five months of the year, a post-1997 record for the January to May period. Also in the headlines, a massive intervention to prop up the local currency could pose risks to the property market, and logistics builder Goodman is planning a high-tech warehouse in Tuen Mun featuring lots of robots. All these stories and more await you, if you just keep reading.

Property Sales Reach HK$300B in First 5 Months

The frenetic buying of homes, offices and car parks in Hong Kong has lifted the total spend on property to HK$300.2 billion ($38.2 billion) in less than five months this year, the highest level in the past 21 years, according to local brokerage Midland Realty.

The record for the first five months – HK$402.1 billion – was set in 1997, but analysts expect total property transaction values to set a new record in 2018, as prices rise sky high. Read more>>

HK’s $9B Currency Defense Could Prompt Prime Rate Hike

Financial authorities here have intervened to buy HK$70.4 billion ($8.96 billion) since April to prop up the currency, in effect tightening monetary policy in an economy particularly sensitive to US interest rate moves.

The currency intervention has ramifications for the low lending rates that have underpinned the territory’s housing boom. Next month’s widely expected US interest rate hike could prompt commercial banks, which are seeing their funding costs rise, to raise the prime rates that determine how much homebuyers pay for mortgages. Read more>>

Wheelock Revises Prices for New Shau Kei Wan Project

Wheelock Properties said yesterday it has updated the price list of Island Residence project in Shau Kei Wan, with an average price of HK$28,466 per square foot after certain discounts.

The latest batch comprises apartments in sizes ranging from 272 square feet (25 square metres) to 393 square feet, and priced between HK$26,491 and HK$30,192 per square feet. In Ho Man Tin, Wheelock revealed the price list for 55 apartments from its latest residential project One Homantin. Read more>>

Over 3,000 Homes Expected to Launch in Pak Shek Kok

Pak Shek Kok in Tai Po is about 30 minutes by bus from University, the closest MTR station and more than an hour from Central. Hong Kong Science Park, which is about a brisk 10-minute walk, is the most convenient place in the vicinity to dine and shop.

Despite such inconveniences and remoteness, developers are expected to launch more than 3,000 flats over the next few months in this corner of northeastern Hong Kong. Read more>>

Goodman to Build Robot-Run Warehouse in Tuen Mun

Australia-based logistics property developer Goodman plans to build a warehouse with robots receiving, sorting and storing goods, at a site in Tuen Mun it won this month, the company said on Wednesday.

“We plan to build a high-quality, modern logistics facility on the site to accommodate the latest advancements in automation and robotics rarely seen in Hong Kong,” said Kristoffer Harvey, the chief executive for Greater China at the company. “We are in active discussions with a number of our e-commerce and logistics customers to take up space in this modern development.” Read more>>

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