HK - Housing 01 (May 08 - Aug 11)

[LenaHuat]

Hi K
Whole-heartedly agree with U Yam Seng

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: HK Developers Fall; But Tsang Measures Flagged

1148 [Dow Jones] HK chief executive Donald Tsang spends full hour talking about property market, measures aimed to cool rising property market include: will consult public on land reclamation to boost land supply, will introduce policies to help sandwich class in housing, will remove property as part of capital investment entrant scheme, will examine issues on regulating primary property sales

-- most of these either flagged or small tweaks rather than major fixes -- don't appear will have major impact on local property market.

"These measures more or less are in line with the leaked versions... the property stocks have had a strong rally recently, with further catalysts lacking, investors are likely to take profits," says strategist at brokerage arm of Chinese bank.

Cheung Kong (0001.HK) down 2.4% at HK$125.60, SHK Properties (0016.HK) down 3.6% at HK$131.90, Sino Land (0083.HK) off 2.6% at HK$15.98, New World Development (0017.HK) down 3.5% at HK$16.10.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

Hong Kong Chief Executive:To Take Decisive Measures To Curb Asset Bubbles

HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Saturday the government will take measures to curb the forming of asset bubbles in the city, in another attempt to tackle the growing public discontent over surging property prices.

"I won't allow the asset bubble to form in the city. If we see this happens, we will take decisive measures to tackle it. ... We won't leave our hands off," Tsang said in an interview at Radio Television Hong Kong.

Earlier this month, Tsang unveiled measures in his policy address to increase housing supply and reduce hot-money inflows into real estate.

Tsang said Saturday he doesn't expect to see a short-term impact from these measures but he believes they will help to cool the property prices in the medium and long terms.

Tsang's policy address came at a time when the city's property prices are near the peak they reached before the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with average home prices up 15% so far this year, following a 30% jump in 2009.

Separately, government statistics show the number of private homes on which construction began between January and September rose to a three-year high of 11,700.

-By Chester Yung, Dow Jones Newswires

[winston]

Real Estate not sure thing ? Just imagine waiting 13 years excluding interest ...

Hong Kong luxury real estate prices rise above 1997 peak By Leah Hyslop

Prices for luxury property in Hong Kong have surpassed their 1997 peak for the first time.

The average price for a home of around 100 square metres (1,100 square feet) is now 13.8 per cent higher than in the third quarter of 1997.

Demand for homes is so great in the crowded city that there are fears of a property bubble developing - with some experts suggesting it already has.

Earlier this month, the city's chief executive Donald Tsang introduced measures intended to slow the property market, including stopping automatic residency for wealthy property buyers, many of whom come from mainland China.

Simon Smith, head of research and consultancy at Savills, Hong Kong said: “The government is struggling to find an effective policy response to rising prices. Limited new supply of housing, low interest rates and increasing numbers of mainland buyers are all helping to push values to record highs. It looks like this is something we will have to live with for the time being.”

The Asian crisis began in 1997, when Thailand's currency, the baht, collapsed. It started less than 24 hours after the UK had ceded sovereignity of Hong Kong to China, and caused widespread economic problems, during which house prices in Hong Kung sunk by around 60 per cent.

The housing slump lasted for six years, but since 2003, prices have been gradually increasing. Although the price of homes was affected by the global recession, Hong Kong has weathered the past two years remarkably well, with the average home actually increasing its price by more than 45 per cent in that time.

According to Mercer's Cost of Living survey 2010, Hong Kong is now the eighth most expensive city in the world, and third most expensive city in Asia, after Tokyo and Osaka.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... -peak.html

[winston]

On CNBC:-

They are talking about a 20% rise in HK properties from QE2

Wonder who's planting this idea into the masses ?

[winston]

What happens when your luxury condo suddenly dropped by half ?

Second radiation leak causes concern in Hong Kong

Daya Bay nuclear power plant The Chinese press have reported a second leak from a nuclear power station in Daya Bay, Guangdong in the south of China, 50 kilometres from Hong Kong.

The operator CLP Power denies that there is any risk to human health or the environment.

The first leak occurred in May of this year and was acknowledged by the company in June, after the Security Bureau in Hong Kong made enquires. The company issued a statement then saying as the leak was insignificant in its levels of radiation, so no notification had been required.

In the latest leak, the company have reportedly said that although workers were exposed to radiation, it was a minimal amount, equivalent to two chest x-rays.

The incident, which involved a flaw in a water pipe section of a residual heat removal system, was cclassified as a level-one accident according to CLP. There is a 0-7 point set by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Only nuclear reactor accidents classified as level-two or above are required to be reported to the public and international organisations immediately.

However, Greenpeace campaigners and Hong Kong Democratic Party legislator James To Kun-Sun have said that the company's explanations are unacceptable and the public has a right to be informed.

http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp ... +Hong+Kong

[winston]

Hong Kong unveils new measures to cool property market

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong government unveiled new measures on Friday aimed at cooling the property market amid public discontent at spiralling prices and fears of a real estate bubble .

Financial Secretary John Tsang announced new stamp duties that will take effect from Friday aimed at restraining what he called "short-term speculative" inflows into the glitzy financial hub's property market.

"These are extraordinary measures under exceptional circumstances. Our aim is to curb short-term speculative activities and to reduce the risk of any asset bubble," Tsang told journalists.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 954046.cms

[winston]

DJ MARKET TALK:HK Developers Mixed;Govt Measures May Backfire-UBS

1156 [Dow Jones] HK developers in doldrums, likely to remain so in short term, as investors in wait-and-see mode, gauging impact of HK government's sector-curbing measures on physical property market.

"What we fear is basically a scenario where, instead of allowing the market to adjust itself, the government's subjective wish to control asset prices could result in a more precipitous fall after reaching a peak, albeit with the short-term benefit of a possibly lower price level at the peak," says UBS.

SHK Properties (0016.HK) +0.6% at HK$126.70, Sino Land (0083.HK) +2.1% at HK$15.56, but Cheung Kong (0001.HK) down 0.2% at HK$114.60; all blue-chip developers trading below 50-day moving averages, appear unlikely challenged near term.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

DJ MARKET TALK: HK's Second-Tier Developers Up; Safer Haven -SHKF

1241 [Dow Jones] Hong Kong's second-tier developer stocks are higher, likely due to rotational interest, as they've been lagging major developers, while an improvement in residential property sales over the weekend suggests the market has priced in the government's measures in November, to curb speculation, says Daniel So, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial.

"Local developers are now viewed as a safer haven (compared with their mainland counterparts), as they are less affected by any further tightening measures in China," and while U.S. interest rates are expected to remain low.

JPMorgan notes there were 20 units sold in the primary market last week, up from 18 units sold in the week before.

Among second-tier developers, Kerry Properties (0683.HK) is +3.0% at HK$41.20 and K. Wah (0173.HK) is +1.0% at HK$2.92.


Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: HK Home Prices To Rise 5%-10% In 2011 - DBS

0926 [Dow Jones] Despite short-term consolidation, the HK property market upcycle "should be intact as abundant liquidity, the root of spiralling prices, is still there," says DBS Vickers.

Expects negative real interest rates should persist given the low nominal interest rate and rising inflationary pressures, fueling residential demand; it forecasts 5%-10% growth in HK home prices for 2011.

Adds HK developer stocks' valuations are inexpensive -- following the recent selloff, the property developer sector is trading at a 15% discount to NAV, vs the 10-year average of 13%.

"The sector could be re-rated once major property launches resume, expected in 2Q11, and receive good response."

Source: Dow Jones Newswire