〈The Standard, March 16, 2024〉The secondary market has seen a surge in demand for flats in the lower price range following the easing of measures imposed at the height of the property boom to curb speculation.

Many home buyers and investors are actively searching for properties, leading to situations where vendors are looking for higher bids even with an offer in hand and some buyers are resorting to confirmor sales.

According to Midland Realty, one such transaction involved a low-level 251-square-foot flat at Park Yoho in Yuen Long, which was on the verge of being sold off for HK$3 million.

However, another buyer snagged the deal with a HK$3.08 million offer at the last minute. That was HK$12,271 per square foot.

〈The Standard, March 15, 2024〉Six car brands from the mainland parked themselves in Kowloon Bay recently as part of a drive that uses Hong Kong as a bridge to pivot into southeast Asia.

Their race into the real estate here is spot on: the market share of electric vehicles in Hong Kong had exceeded 63 percent by June, according to the Transport Department. And it is this appetite for sales that saw China edge ahead of Japan in becoming the biggest automobile exporting country in the world last year.

BYD, the best-selling Chinese EV brand in Hong Kong last year with more than 3,700 cars, has, for one, opened nine exhibition halls and four big after-sales service centers in Hong Kong via two agencies, JC Motor and Harmony Auto.

〈Asian Post, March 14, 2024〉Whilst Hong Kong is expected to benefit from lower rates in 2024, economic growth will still be slower than a year prior, says Natixis Asia Research.

Tax is one major issue that Hong Kong will likely face in 2024. “In the medium run, Hong Kong’s fiscal situation could become an issue since the largest source of tax income is increasingly uncertain, including land sales,” warned Natixis Chief Economist Asia Pacific Alicia Garcia-Herrero.

“The real estate sector is still suffering. The reduction in the stamp duty may help increase transactions but not necessarily lift prices since structural factors are pushing down demand, especially demographics,” Garcia-Herrero added.

〈Hong Konv Business, March 13, 2024〉Prices of Grade A buildings in Hong Kong are expected to fall by 10% in 2024, according to a report by Savills Hong Kong.

Retail shop prices are also expected to fall by 5% over the same period.

〈Macau News Agency, March 12, 2024〉The reopening of borders and the increasingly frequent cross-border movements of Macau residents to mainland China are impacting local consumption, warns the Macau Economic Association in its latest analysis released on Friday.

However, the Association predicts that the region’s main economic indicators will demonstrate stable and positive performance in 2024, despite the external political and economic environment remaining “extremely complex and volatile,” public broadcaster TDM reported.

Macau’s gross domestic product surged80.5 percent in 2023, and the International Monetary Fund forecasts a 13.9 percent growth for this year.

Economists suggest that as cross-border travel becomes more frequent, many Macau residents are journeying to mainland China and Hong Kong, thereby affecting local consumption. Throughout the year, it is anticipated that domestic consumption may face further impacts, raising concerns about the viability of some businesses, according to the association. This situation “requires constant attention,” it adds.