Sydney home prices declined for the first time in almost a year (Getty Images)
Signs of a shift in Australia’s housing market lead Mingtiandi’s first look at real estate news from around Asia Pacific of the new year, as rising interest rates seem to be driving down home prices in Sydney and Melbourne. Also in the news, Singapore co-living operator The Assembly Place files for an IPO on the SGX’s small cap board and KKR suffers a rare setback in a Japan buyout bid.
Australian Home Prices Growth Slows as Sydney, Melbourne Decline
The red-hot Australian housing market is showing the first signs of easing since interest rates started rising back in May 2022.
Sydney and Melbourne property markets went backwards by 0.1 percent in December for the first time since January last year. Nationally, December produced the smallest monthly increase in house prices in five months, up just 0.7 percent. Read more>>
Singapore Co-Living Startup Assembly Place Files Draft Prospectus for Catalist IPO
Co-living operator The Assembly Place on Tuesday (Dec 30) lodged a preliminary prospectus to list on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The Assembly Place operates an asset-light model, managing and operating a portfolio of accommodation assets that ranges from co-living spaces to hotels and student housing. It describes itself as Singapore’s “largest and most diversified” co-living operator, managing about 3,422 keys across 100 property assets in Singapore as at Dec 17. Read more>>
KKR Loses Japan Buyout Battle as Tonic Maker’s Top Shareholder Balks
KKR & Co.’s bid to take Yomeishu Seizo Co. private has been scuttled because the Japanese herbal tonic maker’s top shareholder doesn’t intend to sell its stake.
Yomeishu said it terminated exclusive talks with KKR after determining that the proposal couldn’t succeed because of shareholder Yuzawa KK’s position. The announcement came just half a day after Yomeishu confirmed that it had given first negotiating rights to KKR for a buyout. Read more>>
GIC, Temasek Estimated to Have Invested $31B Each in 2025
Investments by GIC and Temasek together were flat on the year in 2025 at US$31 billion, indicated data platform Global SWF.
Global SWF’s annual report, published on Thursday (Jan 1), showed that GIC came in fourth in terms of spending, falling from second place in 2024. Temasek ranked eighth, rising one spot from its placing the year before. Read more>>
Keppel Sells Harbourfront Development to Marina Operator SUTL for $31M
Marina developer and operator SUTL Enterprise will acquire Marina at Keppel Bay from Keppel Bay for S$40 million ($31.2 million).
Mainboard-listed SUTL said in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Dec 30) that it entered into a put-and-call-option agreement with Keppel Bay to acquire the marina, with the acquisition to be completed in the second half of 2026. After acquisition, the 166-berth marina will be renamed One°15 Marina Keppel Bay. Read more>>
CapitaLand India Trust Sells Data Centre Stakes to Data Centre Fund
CapitaLand India Trust has agreed to divest partial stakes in three data centre development projects to the CapitaLand India Data Centre Fund, with both entities managed by CapitaLand Investment.
The data centre fund will acquire stakes of 20.2 percent in each of the three data centre assets, CLI said on Wednesday. The estimated total purchase consideration is INR 7 billion ($78 million) and the fund will also have the right of first offer to acquire a stake in CapitaLand India Trust’s fourth data centre, CapitaLand DC Bangalore. Read more>>
Hong Kong to Launch Tender for New Territories Megaproject on Tuesday
A tender for an integrated commercial, industrial and residential development in Hong Kong’s Hung Shui Kiu area will be launched on Tuesday, including three private housing sites and three enterprise and technology park sites, with an area of around 11 hectares, according to Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho.
The Hung Shui Kiu pilot area project is expected to provide 3,100 homes, with a gross industrial floor area of 280,000 square meters. The tender will adopt the “two-envelope” approach, with 70 percent weighting assigned to the non-premium proposal in relation to the development of industries and the 30 percent allocated to the land premium offer. Read more>>
Kuala Lumpur-Listed REIT Buy Johor Industrial Property
KLSE-listed Axis Real Estate Investment Trust said on Wednesday that it is acquiring an industrial property in Senai, Johor, for MYR 34.6 million ($8.5 million). This marks Axis REIT’s fourth acquisition this year, bringing its total investments for the year to MYR 964.6 million.
The property is a 0.81-acre plot of leasehold industrial land designated for medium industrial use. It is proposed to be developed into a double-storey detached factory with a mezzanine floor, together with a double-storey office building and other ancillary facilities. Read more>>
China Extends VAT Waiver on Home Sales to Boost Housing Market
China will extend a policy scrapping value-added tax on certain home sales in a move aimed at easing the country’s persistent property slump.
The exemption — which applies to individuals selling residential properties they have owned for at least two years — will be implemented from Friday, the country’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement Tuesday. A 3 percent VAT remains for homes sold within two years of purchase. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on X, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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