Chiang Ling Ng’s M&G team has been busy in Japan
It’s only early November, but already some of Asia’s biggest markets looked headed into the dead of winter as property sales drop off in mainland China, Hong Kong and other points in the region. For one UK investor this seems to make November a good time to buy in Japan, while some mainland buyers have decided that sitting out the downturn may be more comfortable in the Greek Isles while carrying a European visa. Read on for all the details on these stories and more.
M&G Buys Japanese Properties for $84M
M&G Real Estate, the property fund management arm of London-based M&G Investments, has acquired a portfolio of Japanese residential buildings for US$83.7 million, its fifth in Japan since the launch of its core Asia property strategy in 2006.
The portfolio comprises four multi-family residential buildings located in Chiba, Fukuoka, and Osaka, the company says in a statement on October 29. This is its first Japanese property deal of 2018. Read more>>
Greek Central Bank Probe Chinese Golden Visa Buyers
Greece’s central bank is investigating a series of unusual transactions by Chinese citizens who used their credit cards to buy property in Athens and join the EU country’s flourishing “golden visa” scheme.
The credit card purchases were made through two leading Greek banks, National Bank of Greece and Eurobank, a central bank official said. Read more>>
Chinese Investors Lose Taste for US Property
The appetite among Chinese investors for US property has cooled this year, although the softening could be temporary given the allure of US dollar denominated assets and the appeal of real estate as a store of offshore wealth, according to analysts.
Hong Kong and mainland China investments in the US property market amounted to US$4.42 billion from January to October, compared to US$6.81 billion for the whole of last year, according to data by Colliers. Read more>>
Hong Kong Market Said Headed for a Correction
Signs of a housing market downturn in Hong Kong are spreading after the city’s first interest rate increases in 12 years and an escalation in trade tensions between China and the US.
“We are now in a correction like the one we had during 2015 to 2016,” said Mr Cusson Leung, JPMorgan Chase’s head of property and conglomerates research in Asia, citing buyers’ fears for the outlook of both the Hong Kong and Chinese economies. Read more>>
Mainland Bear Market Looks Set to Continue
China’s property bear market is showing no sign of improvement, with analysts expecting further deterioration in sentiments in the coming months as sales continue to slow and authorities uphold controls on the sector.
Contracted home sales in October grew at the slowest pace in four months after they peaked in July with a 58.1 per cent on the month, according to consultancy CRIC. China’s top 100 developers, which account for two-thirds of the country’s property sales, sold 784.6 billion yuan(US$113.5 billion) worth of properties, representing a 10.5 per cent drop from September, despite a 26.1 per cent year-on-year increase. Read more>>
Foreclosed Homes Go Unloved at Hong Kong Auction
Auctioneers in Hong Kong are struggling to get high enough bids to clear out foreclosed homes. A year ago, property prices were soaring, and auctioneers routinely saw new or used homes that had been repossessed by banks receive multiple bids before the hammer fell. But not now.
At an auction Tuesday, only two out of nine foreclosed homes offered were sold, despite a high turnout of 65 prospective buyers. While the two that sold saw a run-up in bids, five couldn’t get the asking price and two drew no bids at all. Read more>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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