〈The Standard, Nov 16, 2024〉A luxury house at 28 Peak Road, owned by a local family, reportedly sold for over HK$1 billion at around HK$112,000 per square foot, marking the largest high-end property transaction since the rate cut.
The property spans 16,700 square feet, featuring a large garden, pool and a villa with a usable area of about 8,910 square feet.
It includes a basement with a garage and helper's quarters, a ground floor with living and dining areas, a kitchen, a guest suite and the first floor has six en-suite bedrooms.
〈Hong Kong Business, Nov 15, 2024〉Build-to-sell completions in China boosted Hongkong Lands underlying profit in Q3 2024.
In Q3, the group recorded attributable interest in contracted sales of US$169m.
Hongkong Land, however, will no longer pursue new standalone build-to-sell projects, focusing solely on ultra-premium integrated commercial property opportunities.
Meanwhile, the group also reported lower contributions from investment properties due to reduced income from its Hong Kong Central portfolio.
In Hong Kong, flight-to-quality demand underpinned the performance of the groups Central office portfolio, pushing vacancy to 7.6%.
〈Asian Post, Nov 14, 2024〉Hong Kong will have high housing inventories and will likely focus on destocking in the coming years, according to S&P Global Ratings.
"Developers will face further margin pressure because they will be booking residential projects acquired back when land prices were higher,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Edward Chan.
The weighted average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin could edge down further to 34.9% by their fiscal year 2026.
〈Asian Post, Nov 13, 2024〉Hong Kong’s retail market saw several notable leasing deals in September, indicating sustained demand for premium retail spaces in key areas despite challenging market conditions.
Some major transactions include Emperor Watch and Jewellery securing a flagship location in the Shanghai Commercial Bank Tower with a 7,354-square-foot (sq ft) ground-floor lease, including additional floors and storage.
The five-year lease, beginning in March 2025, was signed at $1.52m monthly.
〈RTHK News, Nov 12, 2024〉Global stock markets ended the week on a sour note on Friday as traders digested Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments that the US central bank was not on a preset path to cut interest rates.
After Powell indicated the Fed was in no hurry to cut rates as it monitors inflation's downward trajectory, Wall Street turned red, with all three major indices closing lower.
"Certainly Powell's speech has triggered some skepticism about the path of rates, with potentially December being a skip instead of another cut," Edward Jones senior investment strategist Angelo Kourkafas told AFP.
