Hong Kong Builders Cut Home Prices to 2018 Levels and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, big-name Hong Kong developers dangle deep discounts to lure buyers to new projects, and Alibaba’s Cainiao logistics arm replaces one of the banks preparing its IPO. Also making the list is a Greystar buy in Australia and a Japanese data centre investment.

Hong Kong Developers Offer Huge Discounts at New Projects to Boost Sales

Buyers waiting to enter Hong Kong’s property market could be spoiled for choice as some developers release homes at price levels last seen five years ago, looking to lock in sales before further anticipated increases in interest rates and supply.

Developers are even offering sweeteners like mortgage discounts and travel vouchers to exotic destinations like the Maldives to drum up sales. Read more>>

CITIC, JPMorgan Replacing CICC in Cainiao’s Hong Kong IPO, Sources Say

Cainiao Network Technology, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, has seen a reshuffle in the banks that are preparing for its Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said.

China International Capital Corp has to drop out to avoid conflicts of interest, as the investment bank is a joint sponsor of J&T Global Express, one of Cainiao’s rivals in China, the people said. Banks including CITIC Securities and JPMorgan Chase have instead joined Citigroup in arranging Cainiao’s IPO, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Read more>>

Greystar Buys High-Profile Project in Melbourne’s Collingwood

UEM Sunrise has sold a proposed residential project affecting a series of car yards at the southwest corner of Hoddle and Langridge streets in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood to US developer and fund manager Greystar.

The buyer plans to operate the property as a build-to-rent investment with about 400 units in two towers, the taller rising 23 storeys. Read more>>

Allied Properties REIT to Sell Data Centre Portfolio to Japan’s KDDI for $1B

Canada’s Allied Properties REIT on Wednesday said it had entered into an agreement to sell its urban data centre portfolio to Japanese telecom provider KDDI Corporation for C$1.35 billion ($1.02 billion).

The portfolio comprises Toronto’s 151 Front Street West and 905 King Street West, along with a leasehold interest in 250 Front Street West. Read more>>

Hongkong Land Unveils $8B Shanghai Financial Hub Project

Hongkong Land, one of the city’s largest commercial landlords, is embarking on its single biggest investment ever with an $8 billion mixed-use project in Shanghai, at a time when investment in mainland China’s property sector has been declining and the economy slowing.

The project, called the West Bund Financial Hub, is located in the Xuhui Waterfront or Shanghai’s West Bund, and its total development area is more than twice the size of the developer’s current portfolio in Hong Kong’s Central district. Read more>>

Four First-Tier Chinese Cities Remain Developers’ Darlings

The four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou continue to be the key investment areas for China’s developers, according to a new report by an industry research institute.

Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, maintained its fifth position for the sixth straight year, the China Index Research Institute’s report on the attractiveness of real estate development investment in 297 cities showed. Read more>>

Orchard Road, Zion Road Sites to Be Offered in H2 for Private Housing

Eight new sites will be on offer under Singapore’s Government Land Sales programme for private residential housing in the second half of 2023, including two parcels in the prime central areas of Orchard and River Valley.

The Orchard Boulevard plot is the first GLS site released in the Orchard area since May 2018, said Knight Frank head of research Leonard Tay. The last one was at Cuscaden Road, where 99-year leasehold condo Cuscaden Reserve is now being developed by SC Global Developments and two Hong Kong-listed players, New World Development and Far East Consortium. Read more>>

Lentor Hills Residences Start Preview in Singapore

Lentor Hills Residences in Singapore will start previews on Saturday (Jun 24), with sales bookings scheduled to begin on Jul 8, said Hong Leong Holdings in a press release.

Lentor Hills Residences is the second project to come to market in the new Lentor Hills estate, which will eventually house five new condominiums totalling some 3,500 units. The 99-year leasehold project, on an 184,461 square foot site, features 598 residential units across five towers. Read more>>

Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.