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Lam Ka-sing
Senior Reporter, Business
He joined the Post in 2017 and has won numerous awards. These include Business Reporter of the Year and Best Property Market News Reporting at the 7th Business Journalism Awards of The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Excellence in Business Reporting at The Sopa 2020 Awards for Editorial Excellence as well as Merit Award at The 21st Consumer Rights Reporting Awards from the Consumer Council. He has a Master of Science degree in real estate from the University of Hong Kong and a bachelor’s degree in international journalism from Hong Kong Baptist University. He is a student member in the general practice division of The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors.
Hong Kong developers are set to see lower earnings than previously expected after sales slowed in the three months to June amid overall home price downtrend and interest rate upcycle.
Towngas and Bravo Transport Services, the parent of Citybus, have signed an agreement to develop a hydrogen refuelling station on Hong Kong Island and explore the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source.
Global house prices continue to be battered by higher interest rates, with Hong Kong home prices expected to drop by up to 5 per cent over 2023, according to Knight Frank.
The government’s first land tender of the financial year has fetched the lowest price for Hong Kong Island since June 2002 and is more than 25 per cent lower than prices seen in November.
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Deal flow in Hong Kong’s property market seen slowing further in July after volumes hit a five-month low last month as caution prevailed in a rising interest rate environment.
Hong Kong’s office rents and rateable values are expected to fall amid high vacancies, new supply, uncertainties around the global economy and downsizing by firms, analysts say.
The first government land tender of this financial year ended up attracting far fewer bids than expected as the prospect of further interest rate hikes and new housing supply dimmed the outlook for Hong Kong’s property market.
Hong Kong’s government has defied market expectations by announcing it will sell only two plots of residential land in the second quarter of the financial year – about half the number forecast by some analysts.
Prices of lived-in homes in Hong Kong fell for the first time since December, as buyers retreated to the sidelines amid worries over further interest rate increases and oversupply.
Sole agent says no buyer has been found for the Wan Chai tower, which Evergrande paid US$1.6 billion for in 2015. But the building will have a new name.
Mall operators including Link Reit, Swire Properties, Henderson Land and Sun Hung Kai Properties believe EV chargers will help attract wealthy local shoppers as tourist spending continues to lag.
A plot of land in the western New Territories earmarked for almost 2,000 starter homes for middle-class Hong Kong families is expected to draw only a handful of low bids as high interest rates subdue market sentiment and the scale of the project deters developers.
Homebuyers can look forward to big discounts and competitive prices as developers release flats at levels seen five years ago in a bid to lock in sales before further rate increases and looming supply.
Hong Kong’s home prices may retreat from 2023 until 2025, amid an expected supply surge of about 20,200 private homes, according to data from Our Hong Kong Foundation.
The prospect of higher interest rates is expected to continue to depress Hong Kong’s secondary housing market until next year, analysts say, pointing to the falling transaction volumes and prices.
AI-based property agents are still in the realm of science fiction, but artificial intelligence is disrupting the industry as companies invest to explore its advantages and limitations – and how the role of agents will change.
Chanel has leased some of the retail space previously occupied by Victoria’s Secret and Forever 21, in what could be the city’s biggest such deal since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Guangzhou R&F Group is leveraging buoyant conditions overseas after China’s property market downturn bludgeoned its debt-laden balance sheet.
A third property consultancy has joined a growing chorus that believes prices are destined to slide as sales sputter after a recovery in the first quarter proved short-lived.
Green certified buildings are giving developers and landlords a competitive edge as occupiers demand sustainability features, essential to meet a host of business and environmental goals.
The land is expected to yield about 450 flats – some with a sea view – in an area popular among young expats, as the first government tender process of this financial year gets under way.
Hong Kong’s luxury home rents have turned a corner and are set to rise up to 6 per cent in the second half as foreign expatriates return, market observers said.
The younger Lau, chairman of Hong Kong-listed developer Chinese Estates Holdings, has appointed Centaline Property Agency to market houses A and D at 31 Barker Road, according to documents seen by the Post.
The HK$680 million (US$86.72 million) flat in Opus Hong Kong in eastern Mid-Levels has been put up for sale by tender by the receivers, according to a statement by Savills, which said it had been appointed the sole agent for the deal.
Creditors have appointed agents to sell a Hung Hom commercial property that is among a trio of seized assets tycoon Chen Hongtian is fighting to regain control of after what he called a “mild default”.
The northbound trading of Swap Connect will help global investors to participate in the mainland interbank financial derivatives market, allowing them to hedge Chinese bond risk.
The authorities are likely to keep rolling out incentives to support mainland China’s property sector as April’s home sales look set to tank, according to analysts.
Expatriates in Hong Kong and Singapore can expect higher rents this year, but the size of increase in both markets is likely to vary vastly, observers say.
Chinese tech company ByteDance, known for its TikTok and Douyin apps, is set to move its multiple offices across Hong Kong into a new space at IFC, with the city’s commercial property market offering opportunities to upgrade or consolidate offices.
An end to Hong Kong-based companies’ relocation plans and an anticipated slowdown in Singapore’s economy will weigh on the city state’s office rents, which rose 5.9 per cent last year.
