Singapore New Private Home Sales Jump 52% and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

At the top of today’s real estate news, Singapore’s housing market seems to have already absorbed the shock of the latest government tax measures, with buyers returning to showrooms last month following a dearth of new project launches in October. Faraday Future boss and serial defaulter Jia Yueting also gets some ink again today as a US court freezes his assets, and in Hong Kong, an old-line retailer plans HK$1 billion in high tech investments. Read on for all these stories and more.

Singapore New Private Home Sales Jump 52% in November

New private home sales for last month showed healthy demand in Singapore, with 1,198 units sold out of 1,341 units launched – the highest since the July 6 cooling measures.

The figure is also a 52 per cent jump from the 788 units sold a year earlier in the city, and up 146 per cent from the 487 units booked in October, according to figures released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Read more>>

US Court Freezes Jia Yueting’s Faraday Future Stake

A federal US District judge in California has temporarily frozen Faraday Future CEO Jia Yueting’s ownership stake in the company, and put a protective order on the mansions he owns in California, according to new court documents filed Thursday.

It’s the second freeze placed on Jia’s ownership stake in the company in the last two weeks. The decision comes at a time when the EV startup is nearly completely out of cash after a months-long clash with its main financial backer, Chinese real estate conglomerate Evergrande, that has resulted in hundreds of layoffs and furloughs. Read more>>

CFLD Deal for $20B Egyptian Capital Project Falls Through

Talks between Egypt and Chinese builder China Fortune Land Development Co (CFLD, 華夏幸福) for a US$20 billion development in the new administrative capital have fallen through over disagreements on how to share revenue from the project, Egyptian officials said.

Two years of tough negotiations came to an end after Egyptian authorities sent a response to the final proposal by the Shanghai-listed CFLD on developing 6,070 hectares over 25 years in the new capital east of Cairo. Read more>>

Proptech Startup Expands to Four Cities in India

Essex India, a Hyderabad-based prop-tech company, aiming to disrupt home-buying and selling process in residential real estate market, plans to expand its operations to four cities in next six months.

Essex, incubated out of Way2online, a leading marketing technology and data-driven company, is looking to expand operations to Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. Read more>>

Canada Goose Delays Opening of China Store Over Huawei Battle

Canadian clothing brand Canada Goose delayed the opening of a new flagship store in Beijing on Saturday, a decision that comes as Canada and China are locked in a diplomatic standoff.

Famous for its high-end parka jackets, Canada Goose said its new store would not open as planned because of ongoing works. Read more>>

HK Retailer Plans HK$1B in Tech Investments

Dickson Concepts (International), the owner of department store Harvey Nichols, plans to invest up to HK$1 billion (US$128 million) on technology companies, including HK$250 million on revamping its flagship store in Pacific Place.

Pearson Poon, 24, who was named executive director last Friday, will oversee the project, a move experts say could pave the way for him to succeed his father and founder Dickson Poon, 62. Read more>>

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