Real Estate

Diaspora gives wings to India luxury housing boom

12 Sep 2024

New launches of pricey properties jumped 48% in financial year 2024. Real estate is hotting up as an investment choice, especially for non-resident Indians. Their purchases prop up growth in the world's fifth-largest economy. It's a new spin on the power of its global citizenry.

Murdoch’s UK property gambit has a price ceiling

2 Sep 2024

Australian property listings site REA Group is eyeing $6 bln UK peer Rightmove. The News Corp-backed suitor can use cash and higher-valued shares to pay a 30% premium. Beyond that, Rupert Murdoch’s outfit might struggle to combine a successful bid with keeping him in control.

UK’s housing mess requires costly fix

29 Aug 2024

PM Keir Starmer has pledged to build many more houses. Yet homebuilders’ shares are not pricing in a boom. Private players may prefer to sell fewer, pricier properties. More government funds would help, at the risk of further squeezing Britain’s finances.

China is fixing housing market with a long gaze

29 Aug 2024

Only 4% of a $42 bln lending scheme to help mop up excess inventory has been drawn upon since May. Other new policy shifts, such as ditching housing presales, could extend the property slump. Beijing is determined to remodel the sector, even if it requires more time and pain.

China’s big ball of money has nowhere else to go

23 Aug 2024

Beijing's warnings slowed a rush into government debt sparked by moribund stocks and falling home prices. With US rates set to fall, investing more abroad would be an option if it weren't for capital controls. Unless they're relaxed, the bond-buying frenzy is likely to restart.

Kamala Harris’ welcome housing boost is overdue

21 Aug 2024

The presidential candidate plans to cut red tape as part of a $40 bln construction blitz. It’s a nod to the supply-muting and price-stoking effects of regulation. The shift can stem shortages from Washington to Wisconsin – as long as it doesn’t kill homeowners’ golden goose.

China’s mounting bad debts have fewer places to go

7 Aug 2024

StanChart-backed Bohai Bank is selling $4 bln-worth of non-performing assets. It underscores the pressure lenders are under as property-linked loans sour. Yet distressed-asset managers like Cinda are feeling the strain too. Disposing banks' $470 bln bad debt pile will get harder.

Much of Blackstone’s success is out of its hands

19 Jul 2024

The $1 trln asset manager, which buys real estate and other assets with loads of debt, has always been vulnerable to rising rates. Now it is under pressure to deploy its mountain of cash. The die has been cast - the rest is up to the Fed.

Latest UK builder M&A may yet have completion date

14 Jun 2024

Crest Nicholson rejected bigger rival Bellway’s $828 mln all-share offer. While Crest’s new profit warning is a turnoff, falling returns mean housebuilder mergers generally make sense. Bellway may not need to offer much more to convince its target’s shareholders.

China banks walk narrow path past property crisis

14 Jun 2024

The country's lenders have $22 trln, or 38% of their assets, in real estate-linked loans. But bad debt disposals and low exposure to developers have protected balance sheets. The bigger headache now may be falling net interest margins. Beijing's latest property fix won't help.

UK building plans will fail to get off the ground

6 Jun 2024

Rivals in the July 4 election promise 300,000 new houses a year to ease shortages and lower prices. A lack of builders makes that unlikely. More than 346,000 construction jobs have disappeared since 2019. Without immigration or training, Britain will remain cramped and expensive.

PwC Evergrande hit will ricochet around China Inc

5 Jun 2024

The auditor may be fined $138 mln and suspended from working in some cities for its role in the property giant’s scandal. Rivals may benefit. But with President Xi pushing regulators to operate "with teeth and thorns”, such a decision will be a warning to all financial middlemen.

China property bailout stars align for Vanke

31 May 2024

The country's biggest homebuilder is close to borrowing up to $10 bln. That'd effectively eliminate default risk. Being part-owned by Shenzhen helps, as does having some decent assets to entice lenders. The clincher is Beijing's heightened will to put a floor under house prices.

ESR buyout showcases depths of Hong Kong misery

27 May 2024

The $6 bln Asian real estate fund manager is mulling a take-private bid. While its complex business has been hit by high interest rates, a 60% fall from the stock's 2021 peak looks harsh amid a promising turnaround. Shareholders like OMERS can push for a high premium.

China’s new property fix is a work in progress

20 May 2024

Local governments can now borrow up to $138 bln to buy unsold homes. It's the strongest signal yet that Beijing is determined to revive the country's ailing housing market. The amount is not enough. But it lays the foundations for providing more support as needed.

China stimulus starts with a bond, not a bang

17 May 2024

Beijing will issue $138 bln-worth of special sovereign debt. It's not much by itself, but combined with planned offerings from local governments, fiscal support could top 3.2% of GDP this year. It can spur ailing credit demand and speed up investment in strategic sectors.

China goes on a $1 trln apartment-buying spree

16 May 2024

State-owned firms and local authorities will answer Beijing's call to purchase up to 3.6 bln square feet of unsold homes. The bold move will ease the property crisis, which has weighed on growth. But this will weaken already strained government and corporate balance sheets.

Yuan devaluation isn’t worth the trouble

14 May 2024

A weaker currency would boost exports and prices, but speculation China could engineer a fall underestimates Beijing’s desire for a stable exchange rate. Aggressive US tariffs could change the calculus. For now, official signals point to a slow grind lower against the dollar.

China property fix aims to restock speculation

6 May 2024

Reducing unsold inventory is Beijing’s latest directive and replaces the mantra “houses are for living in, not for speculation”. It’s a prelude to removing some investment curbs. Allowing people to get rich off the sector is a necessary evil to restore overall confidence.

Market forces knock ominously on US realtors’ door

12 Apr 2024

Home buyers will soon find it easier to negotiate fees they pay to 1.5 mln agents – a move that might have happened earlier in a less distorted market. Some brokers will earn more. But the reforms are likely to shrink the fee pool, which is tricky for ancillary firms like Zillow.