〈The Standard, Jan 6, 2024〉Developers are speeding up sales, with more than 7,300 flats to be put on the market in the upcoming first quarter, as the primary market is expected to gain momentum amid expectations of interest rate cuts.

Up to 18 projects are expected to be launched for sale in the first quarter, involving 7,348 units.

Of these, projects in Cheung Sha Wan, which provide more than 1,500 units, loom large by accounting for more than 20 percent of the total number of units.

Experts said developers would continue to use low prices to attract buyers.

〈Asian Post, Jan 5, 2024〉The government received 58,035 sale and purchase agreements for all building units in 2023, which is a 2.7% YoY decrease and is 39.6% less compared with 2021.

The total consideration for the 2023 agreements was $477.9b, which is a 13.8% YoY decline and a 47.9% drop compared with 2021.

Meanwhile, the number of assignments of building units for 2023 was 86,444, an increase of 0.5% on the previous year but 26.4% lower than in 2021.

The total consideration for these assignments was $589.83b, down 14.7% compared with 2022 and 36.2% less than the figure for 2021.

〈Hong Kong Business, Jan 4, 2024〉The Grade A office market logged a net absorption of 397,700 sq ft in 4Q23, data from Cushman and Wakefield showed.

Amongst submarkets, Kowloon West contributed the most, registering a net absorption of 334,200 sq ft.

All other submarkets, except Greater Central, also returned to positive territory in 4Q23.

In terms of sectors, insurance accounted for the highest share of new leases by area, with 39% of the total, followed by banking and finance (14%) and public sector (13%).

Year-to-date up to mid-November, however, overall net absorption remained in negative territory at –267,100 sq ft, resulting in a 7.2% drop in office rents.

〈Asian Post, Jan 3 , 2024〉Businesses may have turned to e-commerce for selling their goods but some are still eager to grow their physical presence, with 45% who said they want to expand in China, an Adyen report showed.

The study also indicated that Hong Kong businesses are grappling with the inflation impacts the most than other markets in the Asia Pacific region. Almost 60% said they must offer discounts to consumers year-round due to inflation, higher than the APAC average of 45%.

Hong Kong shoppers confirmed shifts in their purchasing behaviour due to the rising cost of living, with more than a third saying they spend more time searching for online deals and waiting for sales days before buying a product.

〈BBC News, Jan 2 , 2024〉On Friday, a Beijing court accepted the application from Zhongzhi Enterprise Group (ZEG), which has lent billions to real estate firms.

Chinese officials launched an investigation into "suspected illegal crimes" against the firm in November.

It followed reports that ZEG had declared it was insolvent.

The struggling group reportedly told investors in a letter in November that its liabilities - up to $64bn (£50.6bn) - had outstripped its assets, now estimated at about $38bn.