Morgan Stanley Predicts 10% Rise in SG Home Prices and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Singapore’s government hit the brakes on the city-state’s real estate market in early July, but analysts at Morgan Stanley are grabbing headlines today with predictions that home prices in Southeast Asia’s wealthiest city could grow another 10 percent by the end of 2019.

HNA’s tale of fails also gets some ink as the troubled Chinese conglomerate sells off more assets and Hong Kong’s property slowdown may finally be hitting its seemingly bulletproof luxury market. Read on for all these stories and more.

Morgan Stanley Predicts SG Home Prices Could Rise 10% by End of 2019

Singapore private home prices may rise as much as 10 per cent by the end of next year and are on track to double by 2030 as faster income growth overpowers recent property curbs and higher interest rates, according to Morgan Stanley.

Home prices rose in four of the five previous rate-hike cycles, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note to clients. Faster economic growth, the city-state’s attraction as a global hub and demand from buyers flush with cash from collective sale redevelopments will underpin the housing market, they said. Read more>>

HNA in Advanced Talks to Sell Cargo Handler to Brookfield

HNA Group Co. is in advanced talks to sell its Swiss airport-cargo handler to a Canadian asset manager, according to people familiar with the matter, in what could be the debt-laden Chinese conglomerate’s biggest disposal since it unloaded its Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. stake in April.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc., based in Toronto, has emerged as the preferred bidder for Swissport International, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Swissport – which also offers ticketing, cabin cleaning and aircraft maintenance – could fetch more than $3 billion, the people said. Read more>>

Luxury Site on HK’s Peak Draws Just Five Bids

A luxury residential site on The Peak received just five bids from property developers, reflecting a cooling appetite for risk as market sentiment continues to soften amid the worsening US-China trade war, rising financing costs and a sharp decline in the stock market, according to one expert.

Thomas Lam, executive director of Knight Frank, said the large scale of the site, and the funds ­required to adequately develop it, combined with the availability of other upcoming tenders, were among the reasons only a handful of bids were received despite the rarity of the land. Read more>>

Country Garden Kicks Off Aussie Project With Plans for More

Chinese-backed developer Country Garden Australia is celebrating the commencement of construction at its mega 4,700-lot masterplanned development in Victoria, with plans for more projects after snapping up a separate land parcel in Cranbourne East.

Despite “collapsing” sentiment in Victoria’s housing market, Country Garden has increased its investment in Melbourne’s growth corridors, buying an 8-hectare site in Cranbourne East earlier this month. Read more>>

Taurus Investment Kicks Off $200M IT Park Project in Kerala

US-based real estate private equity major Taurus Investment Holdings (TIH) has kickstarted its first investment in India, in collaboration with Embassy Group and Asset Homes, through a $200 million project to create IT space and social infrastructure in Technopark, a government-owned IT Park in Thiruvananthapuram. This is one of the major infrastructure development projects in Kerala, focusing on the IT sector.

The project was launched on Friday by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who on Thursday said that IT firm Fujitsu is exploring the opportunity to set up shop in the State, after Nissan Motor’s digital hub and Tech Mahindra’s plans to set up its office in the State. Read more>>

HK Now World’s 2^nd Leading Target for Cross-Border Real Estate Investors

Hong Kong has moved up 14 places to emerge as the second favourite destination globally for cross-border investment after London, according to an annual report on global commercial real estate investment activity published by Cushman and Wakefield on Thursday.

The city has benefited from Beijing’s capital controls, which encourage mainland Chinese investors to concentrate their real estate allocations closer to home. The city was the second-largest destination for mainland investment last year, attracting a record US$8.57 billion, up by 61 per cent year on year, according to Knight Frank. The cross-border investment it received on the whole in the 12 months ending in June surged by 259.4 per cent to US$13.26 billion. Read more>>

India’s Lodha Developers Delays Planned IPO

The mayhem in India’s stock markets has forced realty developer Lodha Developers to delay its proposed initial public offer (IPO), said two persons with direct knowledge of the development.

The real-estate developer, which has got capital market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India’s approval for the IPO in July, is yet to take a call on the timing of the issue. 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.

Share this now