〈The Standard, May 18, 2024〉The number of secondary-market transactions that ended up being profitable for vendors outpaced that at the opposite end of the spectrum in April, making it the second consecutive month, and it's all thanks to the recent removal of anti-speculation curbs.
There were only 70 such transactions last month, which represents a 36-percent plunge from the 109 seen in March.
However, Midland Realty chief executive Po Siu-ming predicts price rises will continue and that profitable trades will dominate in future transactions.
One flat in The Belcher's, Mid-Levels West, was sold off for HK$32.38 million, or HK$26,113 per square foot.
〈Asian Post, May 17, 2024〉Amidst a noticeable decline in rental prices, Hong Kong's office market is grappling with rising vacancies and intensified competition. In the first quarter of the year, the vacancy rate surpassed 16%, prompting forecasts of further drops in rental rates.
Fiona Ngan, Head of Occupier Services at Colliers Hong Kong, attributed the downward pressure on rents primarily to these high vacancy levels and the fierce rivalry among new and existing developments.
"I think mainly because of the market vacancy, and also the strong competition between the new developments and also the second-hand market," Ngan explained, indicating that these factors are contributing to the changing dynamics in Hong Kong's office market.
〈Hong Kong Business, May 16, 2024〉The total retail sales value hit $31.2b in March 2024, a drop of 7% from the same month in 2023.
Of the total sales value, 7.8% or $2.4b was from online sales. Compared to March 2023, the online retail sales value fell 4.7%.
Amongst retail outlets, "jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts" recorded the steepest decline, with sales falling 17.7% YoY.
〈Hong Kong Business, May 15, 2024〉The Housing Authority's Subsidized Housing Committee has approved the revised income and asset limits for applicants in the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year.
The proposed changes, effective from 1 April, include freezing income limits for one-person and four-person households whilst increasing limits for households with two, three, or five or more members.
Current economic outlook and past practices in income limit reviews were amongst the factors considered in the adjustments.
〈CNN News, May 15, 2024〉Even though China’s economy expanded faster than expected at the start of this year, growth is being weighed down by the all-important real estate sector, which once accounted for as much as 30% of economic activity.
He Lifeng, vice premier and the Communist Party’s top economic official, said Friday that municipal governments should buy unsold homes and convert them into affordable social housing, in a plan that has been trailed as a major solution for the country’s crisis-ridden property sector.
In a coordinated move, the People’s China of China (PBOC) announced that it will set up a nationwide program to provide 300 billion yuan ($41.5 billion) in loans to fund state purchases of unsold homes.
