〈Asian Post, September 30, 2017〉Vast tracts of empty farmland in the New Territories may be where the hope lies for young families seeking their first homes, but is it just one idea of many aimed at solving the city's housing shortage

The 20-minute journey by minibus from MTR's Tai Po Market station in the New Territories traverses the narrow two-lane Tung Tsz Road, passing abandoned vehicles on both sides of the road before reaching a wooded area dotted with a small number of villages.

The land has been owned by Wheelock and Co for more than 20 years. At present, the firm is taking legal action against the tenant for storing containers and building waste on the site without permission.

Yet this remote farmland could be where Hong Kong's young families are finally able to afford their own homes in what could become the city's biggest private-public housing estate.

The farmland has come into the spotlight after Wheelock sought government approval to convert the land into residential use for a 2,705-unit housing estate.

"There are numerous agricultural sites in Tai Po, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun in the hands of developers that have been left idle for 30 or 40 years," said Lee Wing-tat, former chairman of the Democratic Party and now chairman of think tank Land Watch.

The application process to convert farmland into residential land, some of which is zoned as green belt under the city's environmental protection ordinance, could involve more than 10 government departments.

"Besides land premium negotiations, approvals by different departments including the town planning board will be a pain for developers," Lee said.

Even the biggest developers find it difficult. Henderson Land Development, Hong Kong's biggest farmland owner with 44.9 million square feet of land, has not been able to satisfy town planning board requirements for the past 20 years for its proposed private housing estate in Nam Shang Wai , a wetland area north of Yuen Long.

〈Asian Post, September 28, 2017〉Hong Kong Monetary Authority said "the outlook for the residential property market remains highly uncertain," while a UBS report said the city's residential bubble risk is rising.

Despite positive market sentiment in the near term, gradual improvement in housing supply, together with the potential impact of the Fed's balance sheet reduction and further US rate hikes could have a significant impact on the housing market, the city's de facto bank said in the half-yearly monetary and financial stability report.

The report also said the recent property market buoyancy in Hong Kong renewed concerns about housing affordability, as the income-gearing ratio reached 75 percent in the second quarter this year, much higher than the long-term average of about 50 percent since 1996.

It added recent developments in new sources of home financing deserve careful monitoring, including some young homebuyers who financed their purchases partially by the proceeds of re- mortgages or top-up mortgages of their parents' properties.

HKMA said this method of home financing is likely to become more common because of high property prices. Despite HKMA imposing eight rounds of macro-prudential measures for mortgage loans since 2009, Hong Kong faces a rising risk of a housing bubble, and the city ranks seventh in the latest global real estate bubble index report by UBS.

Toronto, a new entrant, tops the index, followed by Stockholm and Munich. Claudio Saputelli, head of global real estate for UBS wealth management's chief investment office, says unabated investor demand and firmly entrenched optimistic expectations limit downside in the short term, but prudence is warranted.

〈Macau Daily, September 28, 2017〉Pooja Thakur, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen Singapore home prices have reached a bottom and will rebound, while Hong Kong’s “crazy” housing market will continue to defy gravity, according to BNP Paribas SA.

“Very significant” income growth will drive the first leg of a recovery in home prices in Singapore, where property ownership as a proportion of household assets is near a record low, BNP’s Asia-Pacific?head of research for financial institutions and property Wee Liat Lee said in an interview while visiting the city-state. That will boost prices by 10 percent to 15 percent over the next 12 to 15 months, in turn luring foreign buyers, especially from China, Lee said.

Singapore property prices have declined for 15 quarters - the longest slide since data was first published in 1975 - as the government rolled out a series of curbs. Home values have dropped 12 percent from their 2013 peak, while Hong Kong prices reached record highs earlier this year.

“Hong Kong has been a crazy market, prices will never come down,” Lee said.

With China’s government stemming capital outflows, money has become stuck in Hong Kong, he said. “If you’re in a country where the physical amount of investable assets is really small, then the liquidity will squeeze the asset price very quickly.”Still, Lee doesn’t see a property bubble developing in Hong Kong, where he is based. While prices are elevated and affordability has worsened, most payments are in cash, limiting the amount of debt propping up prices, he said. Price growth may also slow as the government takes steps to avert a bubble in the world’s most-expensive housing market.

Singapore also ranks better on affordability. The house price-to-income ratio has declined to 10 times from 12 times in the past decade, while in Hong Kong it has climbed to 15 times from about 11 times, Lee said.

〈Asian Post, September 27, 2017〉Demand for much cheaper property elsewhere in Southeast Asia firm as deals for new builds increase 19 per cent year on year in first half

Investors from Hong Kong looking for a stable rental income instead of parking their money in a bank are setting their sights on Southeast Asian property, according to industry experts.

Demand for investment property in the region - where prices are a fraction of those in Hong Kong - has stayed firm, with total transactions of completed properties up 19 per cent year on year in the first half of 2017 to about US$61 billion, according to Colliers International.

One such investor is Gordon Cheung, who bought a flat in Life Asoke Rama 9, a project in Bangkok jointly developed by AP (Thailand) and Japan's Mitsubishi Estate Group.

"Bangkok's property prices are just about a quarter of Hong Kong's. The location is also great, at the heart of Bangkok's central business district near the Chinese embassy," Cheung said.Foreign buyers of Thai properties mostly want a stable rental income, unlike those who buy properties in Western countries for their children's education Vittakarn Chandavimol, chief condominium officer, AP (Thailand)More than 90 per cent of the project's 154 units for the Hong Kong market sold out two days after going on sale. The average price for Life Asoke units on offer was 12,542 Thai baht (HK$2,952) per square foot, compared with the HK$11,762 per square foot average in Hong Kong.

Vittakarn Chandavimol, chief condominium officer of AP (Thailand), said they were targeting investors. "Foreign buyers of Thai properties mostly want a stable rental income, unlike those who buy properties in Western countries for their children's education. The average rental yield of Bangkok property is 5.15 per cent," he said. "As only 49 per cent of flats can be sold to foreign buyers, the supply to each market is limited."

〈The Standard, September 27, 2017〉The buyer of a 4,710-square-foot flat at 55 Conduit Road in Mid-Levels has decided not to proceed with the purchase and is believed to have forfeited a deposit of about HK$14.73 million.

The flat was sold last week for HK$294.5 million or about HK$63,000 per sq ft. The project, 55 Conduit Road, was developed by Chinese Estates (0127) and New World Development (0017).

Last month, the buyer of a 3,917-sq- ft flat at 39 Conduit Road opted not to proceed with the purchase, thereby forfeiting a deposit of HK$30 million. The flat was sold in early 2016 for HK$299 million or about HK$76,582 per sq ft. The project, 39 Conduit Road, was developed by Henderson Land (0012).

Meanwhile, in the primary market, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) launched the third price list for 139 flats at Wings at Sea, its project at Lohas Park. It will offer for sale on Saturday 403 apartments at Wings at Sea.

Discounted prices in the third price list ranges from HK$5.18 million to HK$12.82 million. SHKP deputy managing director Victor Lui Ting said the third price list comprises many apartments in the upper floors which offer a view of the sea. He said Sun Hung Kai has so far launched for sale a total of 452 flats.

The developer has reportedly received more than 10,000 subscriptions for the 403 Wings at Sea flats that it will offer for sale. Lui said Sun Hung Kai will look into details of other developers' planned housing projects for first-time homebuyers who have completed university degrees.