From the SCMP…
The number of unsold first-hand private residential units in Hong Kong’s completed projects rose to a record high last quarter as developers struggled to clear inventory at reduced prices and a global tariff war heightened economic uncertainty.
There were 28,000 unsold units as of March 31, an increase of 1,000 from the preceding quarter, according to data published by the Housing Bureau on Tuesday. The trend prompted the city’s home builders to rein in new launches for the past four quarters, it added.
Since the city’s housing market peaked in September 2021, a measure of home prices has slumped by about 29 per cent as social unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic sent the local economy into a tailspin. A recovery over the past six months is in jeopardy, after US President Donald Trump rolled out his so-called reciprocal tariffs on April 2 on most of the nation’s trading partners.
Nothing some price cuts won’t fix. Well done for using the phrase ‘so-called’ appropriately. But why call it ‘social unrest’ when it was specifically political?
Which brings us to HKFP‘s report on the (not especially good) sculpture ‘Lining Up’ by Taiwan artist Ju Ming. It was installed on the Tsimshatsui waterfront in 2017. Post-2019, it was obscured ‘for renovation’ by boarding featuring photos of all the figures not wearing yellow. And now it has finally just been removed. Someone, somewhere agonized for several years over the yellow umbrella (a 2014 icon) and two figures in yellow raincoats. Whoever it is can now sleep at night.
Officials’ peculiar yacht fetish continues with plans to turn the area around Hung Hong Station into a ‘commercial and transport hub’ with a marina. A key feature will be a 50-storey tower – because Hong Kong desperately needs another one doesn’t it? (Pity they can’t build 50-storey marinas. It would use up less of the harbour.)
This (so-called) “Monaco-style” marina in Hung Hom is already dead in the water when you consider that it’ll likely be subject to an increasing number of T8 typhoons every year and there’s not much fun to be had sailing up and down the China coast. Compared to hot but typhoon-free Singapore with its attractive regional marinas in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, there’s little if any hope of HK becoming a luxury yachting hub. They can’t even half-fill the one at DB.