Living to tell a rambunctious year for real estate
Fireworks over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor from Tsim Sha Tsui promenade on January 1, 2017. Bhubase T/Shutterstock
Happy New Year of the Rooster, one and all!
In the last lunar year, the Chinese were aping each other, given to panic buys at home and peripatetic property purchases from Canada to Cyprus. From the dizzying highs of the Shanghai market to the ever-tinier but ever-pricier apartments of Hong Kong, it was clear that the Middle Kingdom meant no monkey business.
To celebrate the new year, we’re looking back at our top ten stories from the past 365 days, from the nation with extraordinary real estate stories.
1. 7 things we learned from the 2016 Richest People in China report
Crossing the street in Shanghai, China’s largest city. TonyV3112 / Shutterstock.com
When we held a mirror to the top stratum of Chinese society, our readers responded in droves. Our choice picks of insights from Hurun’s highly cited annual list of China’s wealthiest people became the most-viewed of any China-related story last year.
2. Top developers shortlisted for the 3rd China Property Awards 2016
The buildup to our third ever China Property Awards began in November with the announcement of nominees. Judging from our views, the anticipation was very high, eventually landing this story as the Monkey Year’s second-most viewed. A total of 13 companies were nominated last year.
3. How China’s luxury homes are proud to be Chinese again
China’s most expensive house, Unique Taohuayuan, lists for CNY1 billion (USD149 million) and features traditional Chinese architecture. Image credit: Sotheby’s International Realty
China may be atoning for its ill repute as a land of cheap knockoffs, which extends to its real estate developments. From replicas of French chateaus and Mediterranean villas, Chinese developers have taken to designing houses that are truly, proudly local, with some modern flair indoors.
4. Has China put itself at risk of a real estate bubble?
Experts warn of a potential “extremely large” property bubble in China. Image credit: Asgeir Kolberg/ Flickr
Jack Ma’s success story has not been lost on the Chinese government. As a result, they are actively fomenting the rise of start-ups by establishing thousands of innovation centres. However, there has not been adequate talent, suppliers, and amenities to justify their creation. Worse, these empty innovation centres may be may be indicative of an “extremely large” risk of a property bubble.
5. This is the reason mainland China buyers converge in Hong Kong
Central district in Hong Kong. IQRemix/Flickr
Apprehensions about the depreciating renminbi spurred mainland property developers into increasing their land and building acquisitions south. The US greenback-pegged Hong Kong dollar turned out to be an especially powerful deciding factor.
More: It takes decades for you to buy a small apartment in these cities
6. Property Report Congress China adds experts from Greater China, SEAsia
Delegates at Property Report Congress Vietnam 2016 held in Ho Chi Minh City on 10 June
Dr Benny Chow, director of sustainability, Hong Kong at Aedas, lent some credence to an ever-growing roster of speakers at the Property Report Congress China, which tackled some of the biggest property trends of 2016. He was joined by such luminaries as Asia Business Council’s Mark Clifford; Gregory Ku, managing director, JLL Macau; and Vincent Cheung, executive director, Colliers International.
7. Leading lights in real estate dominate the China Property Awards 2016
Sino-Ocean capped the last Gregorian year with the highest honours in the third ever China Property Awards at the JW Marriott Hong Kong on 7 December. The highest accolade of the night was a back-to-back win for the Beijing-based developer, while independently managed private equity real estate firm Phoenix Property Investors snagged three out of its five total nominations. Twenty-two awards were presented in front of nearly 200 VIPs and senior industry figures, including Hong Kong billionaire Chao Sze-Tsung Cecil, owner of Cheuk Nang Holdings Ltd.
8. Sorry, no more strange buildings in China
“Big Trousers”, as the CCTV headquarters is nicknamed, may be among the last of strange-looking towers in Chinese cities. Philippe Ruault
Weird can be beautiful — but not to Beijing government officials. China’s State Council issued a directive this year effectively banning the alien-looking feats of architecture that had been cropping up all over the mainland at that point.
9. China Property Awards officially returns for third annual show in 2016
The China Property Awards 2016 and Property Report Congress China 2016 were formally launched at Club Lusitano in Hong Kong on 28 July
Clearly, there was much anticipation for the 2016 iteration of the China Property Awards. The formal launch of the last year’s awards as well as Property Report Congress China in July became our ninth most viewed story in 2016.
10. How Sotheby’s and Juwai.com are working around China’s Great Firewall
Online censorship in China is so extensive that it has been nicknamed ‘The Great Firewall.’ wk1003mike / Shutterstock
The Great Firewall of China has been an impediment to web masters hoping to penetrate the country’s vast trove of Internet users. Many sites are censored or outright blocked in the country, from Facebook to Google. Sotheby’s International Realty has been able to work around this obstruction by partnering with China’s largest property portal Juwai.com, and it’s a match made in heaven.
Read next: A sustainable Chinese city? There’s no such thing
Source : property-report.com
Read more…Our top 10 China stories from the Year of the Monkey
