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Property policies

Expensive public services have cut into consumer spending as Chinese save to care for their children, elderly parents and themselves. Photo: Shutterstock

Editorial | Fiscal shake-up must be a success for sake of the China economy

Ambitious plan by third plenum aims to overhaul taxation system to help cash-strapped local governments and the people they serve.

Ambitious plan by third plenum aims to overhaul taxation system to help cash-strapped local governments and the people they serve

6 hours ago

Sun Hung Kai plans 600-unit project in Fanling via land exchange scheme

6 hours ago

Hong Kong government rejects bid in tender for private sector to build subsidised flats

24 Jul 2024 - 9:21PM

Greater Bay Area home sales surged in June after property market rescue package

Demand for new homes in the Greater Bay Area rebounded last month after Beijing’s historic measures to rescue the property sector took effect. However, a meaningful recovery in prices will take time amid economic headwinds, says Cushman & Wakefield.

24 Jul 2024 - 7:00AMvideocam

Shenzhen saw a strong rebound in transactions last month, having eased home-purchasing restrictions and lowered mortgage rates to lure buyers late in May. Photo: Martin Chan

Singapore’s US$1.3 million flat reignites debate on home affordability

Analysts say authorities should relook public housing measures and issue may influence vote patterns in Singapore’s next general election.

23 Jul 2024 - 9:45PM

Opinion | China’s timely tax reforms will help local governments deliver stability

With a shift away from disproportionately expecting state governments to power growth, the focus must now be on social welfare and stability.

23 Jul 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

Hong Kong real estate experts say private sector should play bigger housing role

Real estate consultant says government should increase proportion of private homes in housing supply as economy improves.

23 Jul 2024 - 10:33AM

The private sector should play a bigger role in the housing supply, experts have said. Photo: Sam Tsang

How China’s ‘breakthrough’ rural land reform could be a cash cow for farmers

Looking to give China’s economy a jolt, Beijing’s third plenum featured long-awaited plans that could make rural resources more valuable and address the rural-urban income gap.

23 Jul 2024 - 9:15AM

Is China’s housing sector beyond help? Policymakers hope not

Policymakers, concerned about weak domestic demand, may ‘step up easing rhetoric and measures’ at this month’s Politburo meeting, Goldman Sachs says.

22 Jul 2024 - 8:31PMvideocam

Bohai Bank to sell US$3.5bn in loans to China’s bad banks to shore up capital

China Bohai Bank proposed to sell US$3.5 billion worth of assets at a discount to bidders including the nation’s bad debt managers via a public tender to shore up capital levels.

22 Jul 2024 - 1:48PM

UK property market sees green shoots as buyers eye rate cut, lower mortgage rates

Hong Kong- and mainland China-based buyers could return to UK property markets on prospects of lower interest rates and mortgage costs.

22 Jul 2024 - 9:30AM

The Ariel, a 23-storey residential tower with 167 units comprising studios and flats with one-to-three bedrooms with an area of between 400 and 2,071 sq ft, in Television Centre in White City, London, is being marketed with prices starting at £590,000 (US$762,000). HANDOUT PHOTO

Shanghai’s weak office market has companies on prowl for lower rents

Large corporate tenants with growing bargaining power are relocating offices to less developed areas as they cut down on rental costs.

21 Jul 2024 - 11:30AM

How Chinese-made prefab homes could solve Australia’s housing crisis

Chinese prefab home exports offer Australian builders a cost-effective way to tackle the housing affordability crisis and deepen trade ties.

21 Jul 2024 - 9:30AM

China puts tax reform in sights as leaders weigh what government’s role will be

More than 300 reform directives, including the need for a fiscal and tax overhaul, will be officially outlined following Beijing’s third plenum.

19 Jul 2024 - 6:00PMvideocam

Beijing says the supply-and-demand relationship in China’s property market is undergoing major changes. Photo: Bloomberg

Crackdown on illegal structures at Hong Kong luxury homes continues, Legco told

Authorities issue dozens of removal orders and statutory notices to homeowners after Post investigation reveals widespread breaches of law.

18 Jul 2024 - 4:25PMvideocam

An aerial view of Block B at Flamingo Garden, where many homeowners have landed in hot water over planning breaches. Photo: May Tse

SHKP wins hotly contested plot in Sha Tin for price at mid-point of estimates

The amount paid – HK$3,952 per square foot – was less than half the price commanded by a comparable parcel of residential land sold off by the government almost two years ago in the same area.

17 Jul 2024 - 8:46PM

Mainland Chinese buyers bought 1 in 5 of Hong Kong’s first-half home launches

The amount spent by mainland buyers on homes jumped 42 per cent, while they accounted for 70 per cent more transactions year on year, according to Centaline.

17 Jul 2024 - 10:15AMvideocam

Hong Kong developers keep pricing flats to move amid supply glut

New price lists from New World Development, Far East Consortium and Early Light International undercut recent nearby sales by up to a third amid buyer’s market – for those who can stomach the interest rates.

15 Jul 2024 - 8:15PM

An artist’s impression of the The Uppland, a development in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, by Early Light International. Photo: Handout

China’s June home prices fall, adding weight to economic malaise

The slump in the world’s largest property market dragged on China’s economic growth, which expanded at a slower-than-expected rate of 4.7 per cent in the second quarter.

15 Jul 2024 - 2:54PM

Start-up PlanetDao sees abandoned Japanese temples as hot tourism investments

Company wants to turn a growing number of vacant temples and onsens into unique lodgings, with buy-in starting at 34,540 yen (US$217).

14 Jul 2024 - 12:35PM

Hong Kong’s New World, Far East primed for sell-out at Pavilia Forest I amid strong demand

This weekend’s sale show how the city’s property developers continue to cough up significant discounts to entice homebuyers.

13 Jul 2024 - 10:55PM

Potential buyers flock to the Pavilia Forest I sales office at Kingston International Centre in Kowloon Bay on Saturday. Photo: Edmond So

Hong Kong to screen public housing applicants for mainland property ownership

Housing director Rosanna Law says measure to crack down on abuse will include closer communication with mainland Chinese counterparts.

13 Jul 2024 - 1:00AM

Hong Kong repossessed about 2,200 and 2,800 public rental flats in the past two financial years, according the city’s housing director. Photo: Jelly Tse

Singapore fund seeks liquidation of unit of Chinese developer R&F Properties

A winding-up petition filed against Trillion Glory by a private-equity fund owned by Singapore’s investment fund Temasek Holdings is based on unpaid debt of about US$614 million, a Hong Kong exchange filing says.

9 Jul 2024 - 7:22PM

Hong Kong property: fire sales dominate first-half commercial deals

Distressed commercial property sales accounted for HK$16.8 billion (US$2.1 billion) or 73 per cent of the total deal value in the first half, versus 10 per cent in previous years, CBRE says.

9 Jul 2024 - 1:44PMvideocam

Editorial | Rent rise for Hong Kong public housing reasonable if system is to be viable

The Hong Kong Housing Authority has to maintain healthy finances to fulfil its mission, while striking a balance with economic circumstances and public affordability.

9 Jul 2024 - 7:30AMvideocam

People walk by Hong Kong’s Shek Kip Mei Estate. Public housing rents in the city are set to increase by up to 10 per cent from October. Photo: Sam Tsang

Central London home prices drop as UK election creates uncertainty

Prices fell slightly amid ‘a degree of caution’ in the market, Savill’s says. Meanwhile the new government’s proposed tax on school fees may hit Hongkongers who send their children to the UK.

8 Jul 2024 - 9:00AM

An aeriel view of London in August 2019. Photo: Reuters

Hong Kong homebuyers ignore 12% discount at Kai Tak’s Miami Quay flats

The woeful result shows how Hong Kong’s developers have to make deep cuts to their catalogue prices to clear their inventory of unsold homes, as investors and owner-dwellers alike have retreated.

6 Jul 2024 - 8:33PM

Explainer | New law to extend Hong Kong government land leases comes into force

Extension of Government Leases Ordinance designed to cope with more than 300,000 commercial residential and industrial leases scheduled to expire in 2047.

6 Jul 2024 - 10:00AM

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Property policies

Due to ample liquidity, property in Asian markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong has been driven relentlessly higher for years. As a result, governments have introduced property-cooling measures. On the other hand, Chinese government started easing restrictions such as lowering the down payment for second homebuyers to improve the real estate sector. Western countries also impose different policies against foreign property buying.