Hong Kong’s efforts to shore up property prices are bad news for residents seeking to own their first homes in the city. It may take longer to attain the target.

The mainland has US$3.9 trillion worth of unsold properties, which makes Beijing’s funding plan account for less than 2 per cent of that excess inventory, a Barclays report said.

Beijing has announced 300 billion-yuan in funds to help clear excess housing inventory, as well as measures to ensure developers have access to financing and that homes are delivered on time.

With household debt at worrisome levels, curbing consumption and China’s economic recovery, Beijing is interjecting in the largely unregulated process with new guidelines for issuing loans and collecting arrears.

Authorities in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, are planning to buy homes and rent them at affordable rates, to reduce inventory and boost sales.

The value of mortgage insurance rose to HK$13.71 billion (US$1.75 billion) in April, the most since HK$16.07 billion in June last year, data from mortgage broker mReferral shows.

Shenzhen and Wuhan have become the latest Chinese cities to ease home purchase restrictions to boost sales, as a growing number of major metropolises take steps to support the country’s slumping property sector.

More than half of middle-income households in Hong Kong believe house prices are poised to rally now that all of the restrictions in the market have been scrapped, according to a survey by Citibank.

The appetite for commercial property in Asia-Pacific is likely to remain subdued until interest-rate cuts arrive later this year or early next year, according to a CBRE survey. Investors in Hong Kong were notable net sellers last quarter.

Mainland Chinese buyers account for anywhere from 30 per cent up to 80 per cent of the sales in some recent launches, agents say, raising hopes that their buying power will bring price stability to the market.

Company leaders pledge to marshal resources carefully in 2024 as they strike a cautious tone about any potential recovery.

Buoyed by the brisk sales of flats following the removal of Hong Kong’s property cooling measures, the city’s developers have this year launched 4,800 new units as of last week, a seven-year high.

Rising demand for data centres is unlikely to provide relief for Hong Kong landlords and asset owners looking to convert their empty office spaces into industrial property, US asset manager PGIM Real Estate says.

Hong Kong’s economic recovery is slowly filling up retail spaces, pushing vacancy rates to a three-year low. The rebound, however, is bypassing the northwestern part of the city in Yuen Long and Sheung Shui.

‘It’s overall a pretty outstanding location, and pretty outstanding locations will be successful,’ Christian Ulbrich says.

Property agents have raised sales forecasts for the year amid project launches at discounted prices, but say a lack of a rate cut could pare those estimates.

Vanke has held discussions with parties including state-owned investment company Guangdong Holdings and a Tianjin-based state-owned firm to exit its investment, said people familiar with the matter.

China’s banks are removing some of their long-term fixed-income products and cutting rates offered to depositors in an effort to shore up profitability, as challenges including a slumping property sector, mounting local government debt, and slow consumption recovery weigh on bank earnings.

Philippine chain Hotel101 Global targets 1 million rooms and a presence in more than 100 countries after signing an agreement to merge with a Hong Kong company, which aims to list on Nasdaq in New York.

Rents in Singapore’s office market rose in the first three months of the year, shaking off two consecutive quarters of declines as some tenants snapped up limited premium spaces and others renewed their leases instead of relocating owing to cost considerations, according to Colliers.

A wholly-owned unit of Lai Sun Development Company, a Hong Kong property firm, has sold its equity stake in the AIA Central skyscraper for HK$1.42 billion (US$180 million) in a bid to boost its liquidity.

Troubled property developer Shimao Group Holdings is facing a liquidation suit brought by China Construction Bank, the country’s second-largest lender, for a financial obligation amounting to around HK$1.58 billion (US$201.8 million).

Sales of pre-owned homes in 25 major cities jumped by nearly 25 per cent in January and February, compared with the same period in 2022, as activity is on the rise in top-tier cities, analysts say.

‘Foreign investor appetite could not be stronger for Japan at the moment,’ JLL analyst says.

Transactions involving lived-in homes in Shanghai shot up in March as owners offered discounts to bargain hunters, but the outlook for the city’s housing market remains cloudy due to concerns about a bleak economy.

Hong Kong property sales rose to a 10-month high in March, surpassing 5,000 deals a month after the government lifted all property cooling measures, data from the government shows.

Prices of second-hand homes in 100 mainland cities fell in March, extending a sequential monthly drop that began in April 2022 as buyers held out for better terms.

Chinese developers suffered another dismal month in March as new home sales tumbled 46 per cent from a year earlier. It would be premature to expect a turnaround amid an ongoing liquidity crisis.