〈The Standard, Aug,31,2024〉Summers are traditionally a good time to go hunting for a flat, with springs being too wet and autumns not giving some people enough time to bed down the household for the winters ahead.
This summer, the end of which is almost upon us, has seen the rentals market hit a peak, what with mainland students and talent-scheme professionals adding to the influx.
According to Midland, rental levels have spiked 8 percent and are expected to hit record highs this year.
〈The Standard, Aug,30,2024〉The number of inquiries about properties in the Greater Bay Area has gone far north, surging by 50 percent, with the opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link.
Louis Chan Wing-kit, Asia-Pacific vice-chairman of the residential division at Centaline Property, said the deluge of inquiries happened over the past two weeks, with a significant proportion of them focusing on Zhongshan.
The link opened on June 30, seven years after construction began.
〈Hong Kong Business, Aug,29,2024〉Hong Kong's retail scene is floundering as locals spend their money across the border, and retailers need a new game plan to win, including cross-border partnerships with their mainland counterparts.
“As further integration into the Greater Bay Area is expected, collaborations and cross-border partnerships are necessary and essential,” Prudence Lai, a consultant at Euromonitor International, told Hong Kong Business.
“Cross-border partnerships among business units for businesses operating in both markets are key to providing a unified brand experience,” she added, noting that brands could build trust and loyalty regardless of the channel and location.
〈Asian Post, Aug,28,2024〉Hong Kong ranked as the 15th most transparentreal estate market in the world, with a composite score of 1.97, matching Finland's.
This places it in the "transparent" category, according to the 2024 Global Real Estate Transparency Index by JLL and LaSalle Investment Management.
The ranking assesses various factors, including performance, regulatory and legal policies, market fundamentals, transaction processes, corporate governance, and sustainability efforts.
〈RTHK News, Aug,27,2024〉According to data from the Rating and Valuation Department, private flats were 1.9 percent cheaper in July than the month before, marking the third consecutive month of decline.
Home prices briefly rose after the government scrapped all market-cooling measures in February, before the downward trend resumed in May.
For the first seven months of 2024, prices were down by 4.7 percent year on year.
Analysts have said sales may pick up after interest rates start to fall, with the US Federal Reserve indicating that it will begin reducing borrowing costs in September.
