China, HK property retains allure despite wobbles
HONG KONG — Real estate in mainland China and Hong Kong retains a strong long-term allure despite current fears of a damaging bubble, according to an influential player in the regional market. Alastair Hughes, Asia-Pacific chief executive of Jones Lang LaSalle, a dominant presence in the Chinese property markets, sees plenty of reasons for optimism. “For every expat who whinges about pollution, there are 20 people in London who’d like to be here,” he told AFP in an interview, gesturing out across Hong Kong’s famed skyline on a rare clear day in the city. “I don’t think you’d find many people who’ve made money betting against Hong Kong,” Hughes added. The market for luxury property in Shanghai and Beijing is seen as “a little bit frothy” because of wealthy individuals indulging in speculation, he said. “On the other hand, you’ve got everywhere else in China,” he said, pointing to the annual migration of 50 million people from the Chinese countryside to cities in search of work and better housing. As other parts of the world struggle out of recession, property markets in China and Hong Kong have been charging ahead, so much so that Beijing has taken increasingly aggressive steps to rein in the mainland market. The government has restricted lending and made it harder for people to own second or third homes, or to buy outside their home towns. Largely in response, Shanghai’s stock market has fallen about 15 percent in two months. One analyst, Carol Wu of DBS Vickers Securities, predicts a 20 to 30 percent fall in prices for top-tier mainland housing and a 10 to 15 percent drop in the “second tier.”... MORE Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100601com6.html |
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