Is it a blip or a bump in the road?
Analysts are unsure as they consider the first-quarter loss of 42 percent in Asian commercial and industrial real estate. The exception was Hong Kong. According to CBRE of Los Angeles, investments in that market have doubled.
The CBRE study looked at completed investments in offices, retail centers, and industrial facilities. The overall investment for the months of January and March was $11.6 billion. lusail marina
The Chinese Lunar New Year break, according to CBRE, may have slowed activity in January and March. Strong sales activity in the second part of last year may have slowed activity so far this year, according to the research.
Cross-border investment flows fell in the first quarter, which was one of the most significant trends. Domestic investors accounted for a larger proportion of overall transactions, accounting for almost 86 percent of total investment volume.
Residential land sales in major Chinese cities fell 92 percent from April 30 to May 6 this year, according to SouFun Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: SFUN), a top real estate online portal based in Beijing, in another study.
However, there was some good news in the Chinese real estate market at the same time. For example, Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd, a Chinese developer, reported contract sales of 8.19 billion yuan ($1.30 billion) in April, up 103 percent from March. It earned up to 7.5 billion yuan more than the market expected.
The news from Henderson Land Development Co Ltd Chairman Lee Shau-kee was also good. On May 2, he increased his ownership in the firm to 62.20 percent from 62.18 percent by purchasing 324,000 shares for a total of around HK$14.31 million ($1.84 million), according to an exchange report.
On the plus side, reports in Hong Kong and Beijing suggested that London-based Barclays is looking for a mainland partner. China's fast-growing capital market and real estate potential would be the focus of the investment banking enterprise. According to rumors on the street, Barclays is contemplating more than a dozen Chinese securities firms, including Chongqing-based Southwest Securities.
Built for $439 million two years ago, the world's tenth tallest skyscraper was sold for $1.4 billion.
Even though it's only an on-paper deal between the same owners, the $1.4 billion sale of the 103-story, 2.69 million-square-foot Guangzhou International Finance Center in Guangzhou, southern China, is nevertheless listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as a legitimate transaction.
The mixed-use tower, which stands 1,444 feet tall and cost $439 million to construct, took five years to complete, was completed at the end of 2008, and opened in 2010. (280 million UK pounds). The property is the world's tenth highest building, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Yuexiu Property (0123.HK), a Chinese developer, announced the sale of the skyscraper to subsidiary Yuexiu REIT for 8.85 billion Yuan.
According to the firms, the Yuexiu REIT will pay the developer to take over a 99 percent ownership in the Guangzhou International Finance Center.
The REIT said in a report to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it will pay the developer $9,999 in cash and borrow the remainder. The property will be owned by Yuexiu to the tune of 99 percent.
A commercial mall, luxury hotel, 58 levels of office space, 1,700 parking spaces, and 71 elevators are all part of the 457,357-square-meter project.
The skyscraper serves as a meeting center, hotel, and office complex, according to Wikipedia. Floors one to 66 are office floors; levels 67 to 68 are mechanical equipment floors; floors 69 to 98 are a Four Seasons Hotel; and floors 99 and 100 are an observation deck. On the 70th floor, you'll find the hotel lobby.
Guangzhou West Tower was the previous name for the structure, which had a sister project, the projected Guangzhou East Tower. Guangzhou East Tower, at 475 meters (1,558 feet), would have surpassed Guangzhou West Tower.
However, Kohn Pedersen Fox used that design to create another Guangzhou skyscraper, the 530 m (1,740 ft) tall Chow Tai Fook Centre on Zhujiang Avenue East in the city's Tianhe District, which is also home to the Guangzhou International Finance Center.
Since 2010, the 116-story Chow Tai Fook Center has been under development, with an anticipated completion date of 2016. It will also be a mixed-use building including a hotel, office space, and residential units.