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HK wants to avoid property bubble

Posted on 3 Nov 2009 | Comments Off

Hong Kong’s move to tighten regulations on mortgage lending last month showed that the government wants to avoid a big property bubble, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said yesterday.

Mr Tsang: Said that the government had tools available to stabilise the market but did not give details

‘We do not want to see a huge property bubble developing in Hong Kong,’ he said during a business lunch. He added that the government had tools available to stabilise the market but did not give details except to say that any action would be motivated by a need for stability, transparency and smooth market operations.

Prices of mass market residential property have surged more than 20 per cent this year, despite the economic downturn, while luxury property prices have soared more than 40 per cent, benefiting from excess liquidity globally and an influx of cash from newly rich mainland Chinese.

Mr Tsang, however, said that the current surge in prices exhibited far fewer signs of speculative behaviour than a previous property market bubble in 1997 which burst amid the Asian financial crisis.

Last month, Mr Tsang said that the government, which sells land by auction, could make more available for residential property development. Continue reading →

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No takers yet for lot beside Obama home

Posted on 29 Oct 2009 | Comments Off

Owner inflating asking price to double what was paid 19 months ago

A vacant lot next to President Barack Obama’s Chicago home is on the market for almost double what the owner paid 19 months ago.

Unique location: There have been many inquiries about the eight-bedroom house to the north of the Obama home

The land was once owned by the wife of former fundraiser Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko, who later was convicted of influence peddling, and was part of a US$1.75 million real estate deal that hurt Mr Obama’s election campaign. The 15-by-46-metre lot is being offered for US$1.3 million.

The opportunity to live next to the president hasn’t helped sell the house on the other side of the Obama residence. Those neighbours set a US$1.85 million price this week, seven weeks after putting their home up for bid.

‘The high-end market has taken more of a hit in this downturn,’ said Jim Kinney, vice-president of luxury home sales for Baird & Warner real estate in Chicago. ‘The whole stimulus package has been aimed at the bottom end of the market.’

Illinois real estate is showing signs of improvement. The Illinois Association of Realtors said last Friday that year-over-year sales increased in September for the first time since March 2006, with first-time buyers driving the rebound. September unemployment in the metropolitan area was 10.5 per cent, more than the national average of 9.8 per cent. Continue reading →