〈Shenzhen Post, April 22, 2017〉SET to open April 28 along the shoreline of Hung Hom Bay on Victoria Harbor is Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong. The new 16-storey hotel is the first to open on the Kowloon waterfront since 1995 and will inspire lifestyle pursuits with its outdoor living spaces, distinctive dining options, business and meeting services, as well as family activities.

The fourth Hong Kong property of the luxury hotel group Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is centrally located with 546 rooms and will be the city’s first urban resort.

The hotel was conceived by architect and interior designer Andre Fu, who is internationally renowned for his innovative approach to hospitality projects. Providing plenty of natural sunlight, the hotel’s interior features multi-level podium spaces with extensive outdoor landscaped gardens that connect seamlessly to many public areas.

In addition, a curated collection of more than 1,000 pieces of art are showcased throughout the property — many of which were specially commissioned from leading Asian contemporary artists to complement the fluid design of the property.

Upon arrival in the lobby, guests will be welcomed by remarkable views of the waterfront through a curved glass window that soars eight meters high and spans a width of 80 meters. The lobby opens onto a vast outdoor garden with topiary hedges. Adding to the stylish decor is a 50-meter Turkish onyx marble wall leading to the Grand Staircase and Grand Ballroom.

Over 60 percent of the hotel’s guestrooms feature panoramic views of Victoria Harbor and the Hong Kong Island skyline. Starting from 42 square meters for a deluxe sea view room to 294 meters in the presidential suite, each guestroom is configured with contemporary comforts in mind and includes a custom-built open closet, complimentary mini-bar choices upon arrival, Internet protocol television with free videos on demand and bespoke lighting pendants infused with subtle Asian references.

〈The Standard, April 21, 2017〉Since the government tightened rules over buying multiple units in one contract last week, there have been 20 to 30 percent more inquiries on investing in overseas properties, says Neo Cheung Wing Tat, chief executive of Convoy International Property Consulting.

Amid curbs and rising home prices in Hong Kong, local investors find England and Australia most attractive, he said, citing his firm's recent survey. A total of 1,029 people across a range of industries and incomes responded to the online survey. More than half of respondents said they invested in the mainland, but as home prices in top tier cities kept rising, demand has been reduced.

Meanwhile, Henderson Land (0012) named its new projects as Novum West in Sai Wan, and Novum East in North Point. The projects will provide a total of 1,000 units, with presales at Novum West expected to kick off in May.

Cheung Kong Property (1113) said it will keep the last 25 percent of units at its Harbour Glory project in North Point until the fourth quarter. The Buildings Department gave approval to the former Central Liaison office in Kowloon Tong to be developed into two low rise buildings, with 6,311 square feet of gross floor area.

〈Asian Post, April 19, 2017〉The number of multimillionaires who held 10 million HK dollars (about 1.3 million U.S. dollars) or more in liquid asset in Hong Kong stayed at 59,000 in 2016, a report released by the Citibank Hong Kong . The number of multimillionaires who held 10 million HK dollars (about 1.3 million U.S. dollars) or more in liquid asset in Hong Kong stayed at 59,000 in 2016, a report released by the Citibank Hong Kong showed Wednesday. Citibank released its Hong Kong

Affluent Study 2016 after interviewing 3,770 adults aged from 21 to 79 through telephone. The interview was conduced from October 2016 to February 2017. According to the report, the average age of the multimillionaires is 58, and 20 percent of them are single.

Among the interviewees, 47 percent are employed, while 53 percent are retired or running their own business. The median of total liquid assets of multimillionaires is 20 million HK dollars. Lawrence Lam, head of Retail Banking, Citibank Global Consumer Banking, told a media conference that Hong Kong multimillionaires have further diversified their portfolios with more investment products.

The Liquid Asset Allocation chart showed that 36 percent of the money goes to cash and deposits, 27 percent goes to stocks, 18 percent goes to mutual funds and 12 percent goes to bonds. In addition, children's education and living conditions in Hong Kong could be more a concern than retirement life for multimillionaires with children, the report said.

On average, multimillionaires spend 31,300 HK dollars per month on children's education, and they are willing to provide as much as 500 million HK dollars and more in financial support for their children to purchase a property, according to the report.

〈China Daily, April 19, 2017〉China's tightened regulations on the property market to rein in skyrocketing home prices have begun to pay off as home prices in major cities continued to stabilize.BEIJING China's tightened regulations on the property market to rein in skyrocketing home prices have begun to pay off as home prices in major cities continued to stabilize.

Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed, 24 cities witnessed a slower price rise year-on-year in March, up from 20 in February, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.

Among the 15 first- and second-tier cities surveyed, six cities saw a month-on-month price decline in March and six saw price gains of less than 0.5 percent.

In Beijing, new residential house prices rose 0.4 percent month-on-month in March, while Shanghai prices fell 0.1 percent. House prices in Shenzhen, a southern metropolis neighboring Hong Kong, slid 0.3 percent.

'Prices of newly built homes in 15 major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen continued to stabilize in March on the back of targeted local government policies,' said NBS statistician Liu Jianwei.

Property sales recorded strong growth in 2016 with an annual gain of 22.5 percent, thanks to two years of policy easing, starting with relaxation of purchase restrictions in 2014 and fueled by pro-growth policies, including interest-rate cuts.

Since October last year, the Chinese government has implemented a slew of measures to cool runaway housing prices, including restrictions on home purchases and increased minimum down-payment requirements.

The property market, however, picked up its pace in February this year after price gains slowed in previous months, which has led to the biggest wave of tightening of home purchase and lending rules since mid-March.

〈Asian Post, April 18, 2017〉Secondary market in favour with younger buyers unable to get new flats with many making deals on the spot or without viewing the property

Hong Kong's skyrocketing property prices are pushing flat-hunters in the secondary market to quicken their purchase decisions. Many buyers are so eager to get in before the surging market leaves them behind, they are making deals within minutes of viewing a property, say agents. And they are often basing their decision on a photograph, rather than actually viewing the flat.

With prices in some new projects gaining 20 to 40 per cent in less than a month, more house-seekers are flocking to the secondary market.

"Young and single first-time buyers accounted for about 30 per cent of our deals since last month. Most of them failed to buy a studio or one-bedroom flat in recent project launches as developers increased prices in every new batch of units put on sale," said Richmond Wong, the assistant district manager at Ricacorp Properties' Yuen Long branch.

"We have seen prospective buyers agree to buy in just 15 minutes, or even proceed to purchase without viewing the flats as long as the apartments are being offered within their budget."

These buyers are targeting flats in the HK$3.5 million to HK$6 million range, he said. "Most of them come from Kowloon and Hong Kong Island where it's increasingly difficult to find a studio flat for less than HK$4 million. They are happy to see a wider choice of studio flats at two-year-old projects with recreation club facilities within their affordability," Wong said.