Yuan stocks oversold
China’s yuan-dominated stocks, which were heading for its worst week in 16 months, will likely see a rebound after declining below counterparts listed in Hong Kong, according to Mr. Jerry Lou, China strategist at Morgan Stanley."The market looks very, very oversold," said Mr. Lou....
Continue Reading • 5 Jul 2010
Ascott to open Citadines Melbourne
Property developer Ascott, a wholly-owned unit of CapitaLand, has invested nearly A$168 million to develop its first Citadines serviced residence in Melbourne, Australia.The new Citadines Melbourne on Bourke, comprises 380 residential units. It will be Ascott’s largest Citadines-branded...
Continue Reading • 2 Jul 2010
IPC ventures into the hospitality sector
IPC Corporation in Japan is branching from the residential market into the hospitality sector, with the purchase of two business hotels in Tokyo.The company said it has purchased a 112-room hotel in Asagaya and another 96-room hotel in Asakusa amounting to 1.87 billion yen (S$28 million).IPC...
Continue Reading • 1 Jul 2010
Two Kowloon sites up for auction
The Hong Kong government will be selling two land sites in the Kowloon area in its fifth land auction this year, after several developers committed to pay the minimum price needed to trigger the sale.The government announced that an unidentified property developer agreed to pay HK$1.77 billion...
Continue Reading • 1 Jul 2010
UK home price increase slows dramatically in June
Home prices in the UK increased the least in five months in June, as the supply of residential units for sale increased and the plan for a budget cut curbed demand, according to property researcher Hometrack Ltd.The average price of homes in England and Wales rose 0.1 percent to £158,900...
Continue Reading • 30 Jun 2010
CapitaLand to expand Raffles City brand in China
CapitaLand Ltd may expand its Raffles City brand in China by renaming two projects in Shanghai and the port city of Tianjin.“If we can make some adjustments, we can rename them as Raffles City because they are very well located,” said Lim Ming Yan, CEO of CapitaLand’s unit...
Continue Reading • 30 Jun 2010
MDIS to establish campus in Malaysia
Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) – Singapore’s oldest not-for-profit professional institute for lifelong learning, has signed a deal with Education@Iskandar Sendirian Berhad (EISB), a member of the Iskandar Investment Group, to set up a 30-acre MDIS Campus in...
Continue Reading • 29 Jun 2010
China's green buildings see great achievements
China had completed around 4.08 billion sq m of energy-efficient buildings by the end of last year, according to information from a construction industry forum held in Fuzhou City, China.According to the Building Energy Conservation and Science and Technology Department under China’s...
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2010
Henderson questioned seventh time over home sales
Henderson Land Development, a Hong Kong developer managed by Mr. Lee Shau Kee, has been questioned by the government for a seventh time over luxury apartment transactions that prompted efforts to cool down home prices and a crackdown on marketing strategies.Henderson was asked by the Lands...
Continue Reading • 24 Jun 2010
China's new home prices still rising
Prices of new commercial homes in 36 major cities in China continued to increase month-on-month in May in spite of government’s effort to cool the real estate market, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).Average new commercial home prices in 36 major Chinese...
Continue Reading • 24 Jun 2010
London home sellers raising asking prices
Home sellers in London have raised asking prices to record levels, as they want to benefit from the scrapping of disclosure rules and tap the property market recovery, said Rightmove plc.The average asking price for homes in the capital city increased 2.2 percent this month to £429,597...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2010
Tips for property bargain-hunters in Australia
Australia's home buyers might be pulling out from the property markets, but several bargain-hunters can scout for better deals in high-end property if they are committed to research and seek out auctions, a property expert said.The statement comes as auction clearance rates have continued to drop...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2010
China should launch property tax, according to state think tank
The Chinese government should impose a property tax to cool down the residential market which remains over-priced, said a state research company.Local governments would be reluctant to deal with possible property bubbles without a property tax due to their dependence on revenue from land sales,...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2010
Collapsed sales of HK luxury units under probe
The Hong Kong government has announced that it is looking into the cancellation of sales of Henderson Land apartments, which have pushed down the company’s shares this week.Henderson Land said earlier that it would record a HK$734-million (S$130 million) loss due to the sales cancellation...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2010
Australia is one of the world's best property markets
Australia’s property market, on the back of a 20-percent price increase in 2009, has been named as one of the world's best performing property markets.According to a survey of 47 countries conducted by Knight Frank, the surprising growth in real estate values was largely driven by a...
Continue Reading • 21 Jun 2010
US housing drops
US housing starts reached a five-month low last month, as homebuyer tax credits expired while wholesale prices stayed subdued. This gave the Federal Reserve plenty of room to keep its ultra-low interest rate policy.The weak housing market figures from the Commerce Department differed with a...
Continue Reading • 18 Jun 2010
Hong Leong targets budget hotel projects
Singapore conglomerate Hong Leong Group has announced that the next part of its regional growth plans will be centred on budget hotel projects, as the company is now looking to avoid high costs of entry in saturated markets such as Shanghai.But Hong Leong explained that while it welcomes the...
Continue Reading • 18 Jun 2010
Investment expert warns Australia facing housing bubble
Australia faces a “time bomb” housing bubble which could be triggered by rising interest rates, warned Jeremy Grantham, a US investment guru known for correctly predicting the economic recession a year before it happened.Grantham noted that home prices in Australia, which have been on...
Continue Reading • 17 Jun 2010
Henderson's sale of 20 luxury homes collapses
Henderson Land Development Co said the sale of its 20 luxury apartments had collapsed, putting an end to a HK$2.67-billion (S$478.2 million) deal that fuelled efforts to control home prices and sparked a government inquiry.In a filing with the stock exchange, Henderson said most buyers had...
Continue Reading • 17 Jun 2010
Yanlord, Ho Bee purchase six residential sites
Ho Bee Investment and Yanlord Land Group have acquired six residential development sites for 504.6 million yuan (S$102.9 million) in China’s Tangshan Nanhu Eco-City.The acquisition works out to an average price of 1,302 yuan or S$265.6 psm through Yanlord Ho Bee Investments – their...
Continue Reading • 17 Jun 2010