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Midwest small cities lead the Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index for Q1, showcasing strong demand for affordable homes despite a slowing overall market. Lafayette, Indiana, tops the list for the second consecutive quarter, with Bloomington, Illinois; Elkhart, Indiana; Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, following closely. The top 20 markets, with populations averaging below 400,000, have lower median home-listing prices and offer strong local economies and desirable lifestyle amenities. The resilience of these small cities highlights their potential to continue gaining popularity in the housing market as more accessible options for US homebuyers.Read more
Singapore has made an unexpected decision to raise property taxes in an effort to cool down the booming housing market. The tax increase primarily targets foreign buyers, with stamp duties for foreigners doubling to almost 60%. The government aims to ensure housing affordability for locals and prevent property prices from exceeding economic fundamentals. The additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) for Singapore citizens and permanent residents will also see smaller increases for second and subsequent property purchases.Read more
ESR Group Limited has constructed the first-ever 9-storey logistics facility in Japan, the ESR Higashi Ogishima Distribution Centre. The building is situated in the heart of Tokyo and offers unparalleled convenience in transportation, connectivity to E-commerce, 3PL, cold storage, and other leading businesses. It has a Gross Floor Area (GFA) of approximately 349,000 square meters. The facility has been constructed with a focus on sustainability, ensuring that it integrates well into the surrounding urban environment while minimizing its impact on the environment.Read more
A recent report by PropertyShark revealed that Hudson Yards, located on the far West Side of Manhattan, has been declared the most expensive neighborhood in New York City, with a median sale price of $5.729 million during Q1 2023. However, the area also saw a 67% decrease in sales during the same period. Tribeca, which ranked second, experienced a 65% decline in sales volume with a median price of $3.5 million, while Vinegar Hill in Brooklyn was ranked as the third priciest area, with a median price of $2.6 million. The top ten priciest neighbourhoods in NYC saw significant declines in sales growth ranging from 30% to 67%.Read more
The Xinhua news agency recently reported that China has completed the construction of a national and integrated system for real estate registration, after a decade-long effort. This system will enhance the transparency of property ownership and assist the central government in monitoring the housing market. This move is viewed as significant by industry experts, who believe it will contribute to the healthy and sustainable growth of the country's extensive real estate industry. Additionally, a unified registration system could enable China to introduce a property tax in the future.Read more
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The primary unit of China Evergrande Group, known as GDA Real Estate, has announced that the owners of an 8.2-billion-yuan ($1.19 billion) bond will have a meeting to decide whether they will participate in the group’s offshore restructuring plan. This particular bond was originally due on July 8th but was extended by 12 months last year. If the owners agree to the proposal, it could be the first time onshore bonds are included in the restructuring plan.Read more
Last week, the president of SM Prime Holdings Inc announced that the company is considering raising approximately $1 billion through the listing of its real estate investment trust (REIT) unit later this year. If successful, this IPO would be the largest of its kind in the Philippines. SM Prime is a developer of commercial properties such as malls and offices, and its IPO would compete with the record-breaking IPO of Monde Nissin Corp, a Philippine food manufacturer, which raised 48.6 billion pesos through its IPO in 2021.Read more
Last week, China Evergrande Group announced that its subsidiary Hengda Real Estate Group and one of its directors would be sanctioned by stock exchanges for their failure to release their 2021 annual report. The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges reprimanded Hengda Real Estate and Qian Cheng, an executive director of China Evergrande Group, for not submitting the report before the deadline of April 30, 2022.Read more
China's real estate sector faced significant challenges over the past year, with the downturn caused by reduced credit availability and the near bankruptcy of industry leader Evergrande. Despite this, the National Bureau of Statistics recently reported a significant increase in property prices in major cities across China, indicating a potential stabilization of the market. However, experts caution that the real estate sector may experience a slowdown in the future, as credit availability remains an issue, and the pandemic has caused anxiety among potential buyers.Read more
A recent analysis by City Hall revealed that private landlords in England are receiving £1.6bn in housing benefits each year for providing non-decent homes. The problem is particularly severe in London, where £500m of welfare money is being spent on privately rented homes that are in poor condition and fail to meet health and safety standards. Tenants are also paying an additional £7.3bn annually to rent these inadequate homes from landlords. The government has yet to deliver on the reforms promised for the private rented sector in its 2019 manifesto, and while plans for a renter’s reform bill were announced last year, the bill has been delayed.Read more
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