〈The Standard, May 4, 2024〉The vacancy rate for high-street shops in Central came in for a bit of analytical preoccupation in the first quarter as diverse businesses, including luxury brands, sports-goods retailers and fitness centers moved into Hong Kong's premier financial district fueled a notable drop that offset a wave of restaurant closures.
The 1.5-percentage-point drop to 7 percent stood out as the situation in other core retail areas - Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok - remained unchanged or even worse, according to Cushman & Wakefield, worsened.
That was bolstered by another real estate service company, CBRE, chalking up a drop in the district that it said was the largest in the vacancy rate.
〈Asian Post, May 3, 2024〉Total loans and deposits held by Hong Kong banks inched up in March, according to data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.2% in March compared to a month earlier. This was driven by a 0.7% increase in Hong Kong dollar deposits.
However, foreign currency deposits dipped 2%, and a 2% decline in renminbi deposits in the city was recorded over the same period.
Total loans and advances, meanwhile, rose by 0.8% in March. Total loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and loans for use outside Hong Kong rose by 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
〈Asian Post, May 2, 2024〉Soundwill Holdings has asked the Land’s Tribunal for a three-month extension, from 29 May to 29 August, to conduct another compulsory sale tender for a Causeway Bay site.
The developer has also asked the department to lower the price to align with the site's current market value.
Soundwill referred to the recent price appraisal of the 11-storey building at $2.1b, which is 13.4% below the value of the failed sale.
In 1Q24, no new compulsory tenders were filed due to sharp declines in profits, exacerbated by falling revenues from home sales and commercial rents.
〈Hong Kong Business, May 1, 2024〉The number of buyer's stamp duty (BSD) home sales between November 2023 and January 2024 moderately increased to 16 after the government's relaxation of cooling measures, data from JLL's latest Residential Market Monitor showed.
With minimal increase, expansion of new housing supply, and interest rate movement, JLL expects housing prices to continue to decline.
Historical analysis suggests that for prices to stabilise, monthly secondary residential transaction volumes need to consistently surpass 3,500; however, volumes have remained at or below 3,000 since April 2023.
〈Hong Kong Business, May 1, 2024〉First hand sales across Hong Kong’s retail sector amounted to above $10b in the first week and have maintained this level by the second week since policy relaxation, according to Jefferies Equity Research.
According to the report, the launch of Seasons Place with its first batch of 368 units at 100% sell-through, equivalent to $2.4b contracted sales, sets the sector’s strong momentum to come.
