SoftBank Slashes WeWork Valuation to $2.9B and More Asia Real Estate Headlines 

The changing fortunes of a co-working firm lead the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today with the news that Softbank has slashed its valuation of its once-prized investment to $2.9 billion from $47 billion last year.

In other news around the region, 15,000 shops are said to be facing closure in one Asian financial hub, while in India, the same freefalling co-working giant has cut 20 percent of its workforce.

In more encouraging news, secondhand home prices in Shenzhen jumped 10 percent last month, while Hong Kong residents may be regaining a bit of their once dauntless faith in the city’s housing market.

SoftBank Slashes WeWork Valuation to $2.9B

WeWork’s valuation plummeted to $2.9 billion, a far cry from the eye-popping $47 billion valuation it boasted at the start of 2019, the coworking giant’s backer SoftBank Group said.

In an earnings report for the fiscal year ending on March 31 released today, the Japanese bank noted that it had lowered the valuation owing mostly to the coronavirus pandemic. Read more>>

WeWork India Lays Off 20% of Workforce

Work India has laid off nearly 100 employees — 20 percent of its strong workforce of 500 — as the co-working company has been hit by the nearly two-month long lockdown that saw all its office spaces being shut.

WeWork India CEO Karan Virwani made the announcement during an all-company meeting on Monday and through an email stating that there was an “immediate need to reduce costs.” Read more>>

More Than 15,000 HK Shops May Close Without Rent Relief

From luxury boutiques to mom and pop stores, Hong Kong’s retailers are hurting. Unless landlords can offer more relief, one in four could disappear by December if sales don’t improve, putting an end to the city’s reputation as a shopping mecca.

That’s the gloomy prediction of Hong Kong Retail Management Association Chairman Annie Yau Tse, who says the rent reductions that came after public pressure on landlords in February aren’t sufficient. Most are only willing to cut rents by 10 percent to 20 percent, far from the retail industry’s demand of 50 percent or more. Read more>>

Hongkongers Less Bearish on Property Market, Citi Says

Hongkongers are turning less bearish about the city’s residential market after two major calamities in the past year made prices cheap enough to excite some buyers, according to a survey by Citigroup. On balance, the conclusion was it might be better to wait a little longer.

About 10 percent of respondents considered the market conditions an excellent time to purchase a home, the US bank said on Monday. That is the highest level in nine years, and double the level recorded in a similar survey in January. Read more>>

Buyers Flock to Wing Tai Properties’ Bargain Tuen Mun Homes

Young buyers thronged the sales office of Wing Tai Properties’s OMA by the Sea development on Sunday morning, before sales slowed as some of the cheaper flats priced at more than HK$4 million (US$516,000) were sold out.

The developer had sold 210 of the 268 units – or about 78 percent – on offer at the residential development in Hong Kong’s Tuen Mun district. The project is the first to be launched after the government relaxed social distancing rules. Read more>>

Shenzhen Home Prices Jump 10%

The prices of old homes in Shenzhen jumped 10.3 per cent year on year on average in April, pushed up by easing measures introduced by the People’s Bank of China to boost the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The prices were 1.7 per cent higher than March and topped those recorded in the 70 major cities tracked by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which released the figures on Monday. Read more>>

Weekly Home Sales in Shanghai Drop 31%

New home sales fell below the 200,000 square metre mark in Shanghai last week, although sentiment remained strong among home buyers for medium-end properties, the latest market data showed.

The total area of new residential properties sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, fell 31.2 percent week over week, terminating a five-week rally, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co showed in a regular report released on Monday. Read more>>

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