Our top 10 China stories from the Year of the Monkey
Our top 10 China stories from the Year of the Monkey
Living to tell a rambunctious year for real estate
Happy New Year of the Rooster, one and all!
In the last lunar year, the Chinese were aping each other, given to panic buys at home and peripatetic property purchases from Canada to Cyprus. From the dizzying highs of the Shanghai market to the ever-tinier but ever-pricier apartments of Hong Kong, it was clear that the Middle Kingdom meant no monkey business.
To celebrate the new year, we’re looking back at our top ten stories from the past 365 days, from the nation with extraordinary real estate stories.
1. 7 things we learned from the 2016 Richest People in China report
When we held a mirror to the top stratum of Chinese society, our readers responded in droves. Our choice picks of insights from Hurun’s highly cited annual list of China’s wealthiest people became the most-viewed of any China-related story last year.
2. Top developers shortlisted for the 3rd China Property Awards 2016
The buildup to our third ever China Property Awards began in November with the announcement of nominees, which spanned 13 companies all across mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Judging from our views, the anticipation was very high, eventually landing this story as the Monkey Year’s second-most viewed.
3. How China’s luxury homes are proud to be Chinese again
China may be atoning for its ill repute as a land of cheap knockoffs, which extends to its real estate developments. From replicas of French chateaus and Mediterranean villas, Chinese developers have taken to designing houses that are truly, proudly local, with some modern flair.
4. Has China put itself at risk of a real estate bubble?
Jack Ma’s success story has not been lost on the Chinese government. They actively fomented the rise of start-ups by establishing thousands of innovation centres last year. However, there were not enough talent, suppliers, and amenities to justify their creation. Worse, these empty innovation centres were indicative of an “extremely large” risk of a property bubble.
5. This is the reason mainland China buyers converge in Hong Kong
Apprehensions about the depreciating renminbi spurred mainland property developers into increasing their land and building acquisitions south. The US greenback-pegged Hong Kong dollar turned out to be an especially powerful deciding factor.
More: It takes decades for you to buy a small apartment in these cities
6. Property Report Congress China adds experts from Greater China, SEAsia
Dr Benny Chow, director of sustainability, Hong Kong at Aedas, lent some credence to an ever-growing roster of speakers at the Property Report Congress China, which tackled some of the biggest property trends of 2016. He was joined by such luminaries as Asia Business Council’s Mark Clifford; Gregory Ku, managing director, JLL Macau; and Vincent Cheung, executive director, Colliers International.
7. Leading lights in real estate dominate the China Property Awards 2016
Sino-Ocean capped the last Gregorian year with the highest honours in the third ever China Property Awards at the JW Marriott Hong Kong on 7 December. The highest accolade of the night was a back-to-back win for the Beijing-based developer, while independently managed private equity real estate firm Phoenix Property Investors snagged three out of its five total nominations. Twenty-two awards were presented in front of nearly 200 VIPs and senior industry figures, including Hong Kong billionaire Chao Sze-Tsung Cecil, owner of Cheuk Nang Holdings Ltd.
8. Sorry, no more strange buildings in China
Weird can be beautiful — but not to Beijing government officials. China’s State Council issued a directive last year effectively banning the alien-looking feats of architecture that had been cropping up all over the mainland.
9. China Property Awards officially returns for third annual show in 2016
Clearly, there was much anticipation for the 2016 iteration of the China Property Awards. The formal launch of last year’s awards and Property Report Congress China became our ninth most viewed story in 2016.
10. How Sotheby’s and Juwai.com are working around China’s Great Firewall
The Great Firewall of China has been an impediment to web masters hoping to penetrate the country’s vast trove of Internet users. Many sites are censored or downright blocked in the country, from Facebook to Google. Sotheby’s International Realty has been able to work around this obstruction by partnering with China’s largest property portal Juwai.com. It’s a match made in Confucian heaven so far.
Read next: A sustainable Chinese city? There’s no such thing
Source: Property Report