Private home prices fell for a third month in a row in Hong Kong (Getty Images)
Hong Kong’s housing market woes lead this edition of Mingtiandi’s headline roundup, as private home prices fall for a third straight month and at a quickened pace. In other news, China Resources Land reports a steep profit drop and Malaysia’s IOI Properties declines to buy a Singapore office tower from the company’s CEO.
Hong Kong Home Prices Fell 1.9% in July
Hong Kong’s private home price declines accelerated in July as they fell for the third month in a row, hurt by potential buyers waiting on the sideline for more rate cut signals. Home prices in one of the world’s priciest property markets fell 1.9 percent in July from June, following a revised 1 percent drop in June, official data showed Wednesday.
Demand has lost steam since May after a short-lived bounce thanks to the lifting of all property purchase curbs in February, as realtors said much of the pent-up homebuying quest has been sated while developers launched new flats at steep discounts to boost sales. Read more>>
China Resources Land Suffers 25% Drop in H1 Profit
China Resources Land reported a 25 percent drop in interim net profit to RMB 10.3 billion ($1.5 billion) amid a weakening property market, though the developer’s mall unit saw rising profits.
The company declared an interim dividend of RMB 0.2 per share, up 1 percent from a year earlier. In the first six months, the company achieved revenue of RMB 79.1 billion, up 8.4 percent year-on-year. Read more>>
IOI Passes on Offer to Acquire Singapore’s Shenton House From CEO
IOI Properties Group has rejected the offer to acquire Singapore’s Shenton House from its CEO and major shareholder, Lee Yeow Seng. Despite this, the Malaysian builder’s subsidiaries have been designated as the sole project and property managers for the asset’s redevelopment.
Lee’s private entity, Shenton 101, acquired Shenton House for S$538 million ($413.5 billion) and had proposed selling it to IOI for joint redevelopment. The decision to decline the offer was influenced by IOI’s existing significant exposure to the Singapore market and other capital commitments. Read more>>
Chinese Leadership Speaks Out Against Housing Pre-Sales
China is pursuing reforms in its housing sales system with a shift from the traditional pre-sales practice — homes being sold before construction is complete — as part of a broader effort to steer the property sector to a healthy and sustainable path.
Dong Jianguo, vice-minister of housing and urban-rural development, recently highlighted the reforms as one of the six key initiatives to promote the real estate market transformation. Read more>>
UBS Downgrades China Forecast on Deeper Property Problems
UBS downgraded its forecast for China’s growth for this year and next, citing a deeper-than-expected property market slump that’s yet to see a bottom.
With China’s economic momentum subdued since March amid the real estate downturn and a tight fiscal policy stance, the investment bank now expects GDP to expand 4.6 percent in 2024, down from an earlier estimate of 4.9 percent. For next year, UBS sees growth of 4 percent, down from 4.6 percent previously. Read more>>
Chinese-Backed Developer Buying 3 Sydney Office Buildings From GPT
Property giant GPT has quietly sold properties at 155 Walker Street in North Sydney and 81 and 91 George Street in Parramatta for a total of A$219 million ($149 million). The North Sydney asset is expected to settle in November and the Parramatta sites are scheduled to settle next March.
GPT snapped up the sites when the economic environment and interest rate cycle supported its expansionary move and, although some office markets have stabilised, it is tough for large projects to win pre-commitments. Read more>>
India Office Leasing Expected to Double From 2023
Office leasing across the top eight cities in India touched 41.9 million square feet (3.9 million square metres) in the first half of 2024 and is expected to almost double in the ongoing calendar year, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Overall, Bengaluru led the charge with 12.2 million square feet of leasing across its office market during the period, followed by Mumbai at 9.5 million, Delhi-NCR at 6 million and Hyderabad at 5 million, based on data shared by the consultancy. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Far East Consortium Signs Deal for 750-Home UK Project
Trafford Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority have signed a joint venture deal with Hong Kong’s Far East Consortium to build 750 homes at the site of a former police headquarters in Stretford.
FEC will work with authorities to redevelop the 9.5 acre (3.8 hectare) site to create new homes and a range of other uses. In addition to new housing, 25 percent of which will be affordable, the site will provide a hotel, leisure uses, new shops, offices and community facilities. Read more>>
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