Latest news with #DerekChan
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong homebuyers flock to latest Sierra Sea units as mortgage rates ease
Emboldened by lower mortgage rates, Hong Kong homebuyers on Saturday purchased all 216 of the new units offered at Sun Hung Kai Properties ' Sierra Sea project in Sai Sha in the New Territories. All units found buyers within six hours of the sale, which began at 10am, according to agents. Another 25 units were available via tender. Earlier this week, the one-month Hong Kong interbank offered rate (Hibor), which is linked to mortgage loans, fell below 1 per cent for the first time since July 2022. On Friday, the one-month Hibor settled at 0.58964, according to the Hong Kong Association of Banks. 'Benefiting from a decline in the one-month Hibor, mortgage burdens have eased,' said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. The lower Hibor was attributed to higher liquidity entering the city's capital markets as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority began intervening in the currency market. Hong Kong pegged its dollar to the American currency in 1983, and in 2005 it instituted a trading band of HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar. The HKMA intervenes in the open market when the local currency is expected to trade beyond its band.
Vancouver Sun
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Theatre: 6 must-see plays to see in Vancouver in May
Article content May marks the end of the season for many of the Lower Mainland's professional theatre companies. This month's best bets feature a couple of new Canadian plays, a pair of classic musicals, a recent smash musical, and work from one of the best playwrights in the English language. They also show the strength of several Vancouver companies outside the professional mainstream. Article content Article content Where: Firehall Arts Centre, 280 E. Cordova St. Article content Zahida Rahemtulla has written a timely new comic drama set on the chaotic frontlines of the 2016 Syrian refugee crisis. Can three Vancouver hotel employees find homes for displaced Syrian families in a city with almost no rental vacancies? Derek Chan directs this joint production of the Firehall, Blackout Art Society and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre. The Frontliners also plays at Coquitlam's Evergreen Cultural Centre, May 13-17. Article content When: May 8-24 Article content Where: Granville Island Stage, 1585 Johnston St. Article content Local indie company CTORA Theatre presents the best Broadway musical of all time (Leonard Bernstein! Stephen Sondheim!) in what looks like a mammoth production. Sayer Roberts and Cassandra Consiglio as Tony and Maria lead a high-powered cast of 27. Chris Adams directs, Kevin Woo conducts the 14-piece orchestra and Susan Ouellette recreates Jerome Robbins' original choreography on Brian Ball's expansive set. Article content Article content Article content When: May 8-25 Article content Where: PAL Studio Theatre, 581 Cardero St. Article content Along with Tom Stoppard, Caryl Churchill is Britain's greatest living playwright and perhaps its most challenging. Director Kathryn Bracht describes Churchill's 45-minute exploration of the art of dying as 'a surrealist meditation wrapped up in her crafty, clever dialogue.' London's Time Out called it 'a gaze into the face of death that will polarize the hell out of audiences.' A Western Gold production starring six of Vancouver's best veteran actors. Article content When: May 9-June 8 Article content Where: Metro Theatre, 1370 Marine Dr. SW
South China Morning Post
22-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
21,000 Hongkongers vie for 329 new homes at 12-year-low prices at SHKP's Sierra Sea
Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) , Hong Kong's largest property developer, received more than 21,000 cheques for 329 units at its massive Sierra Sea residential project in the New Territories, indicating that attractive pricing can drive home sales in the city despite economic jitters, according to agents. Advertisement The first round of sales on Saturday will feature 318 units available via regular sale at an average discounted price of about HK$10,877 (US$1,402) per square foot, according to SHKP. The number of potential buyers outnumbers the units by more than 65 times, SHKP added. The other 11 units will be available via tender. The pricing is about 20 per cent cheaper than second-hand properties in the district, according to Midland Realty. Sierra Sea is part of the 9,700-unit Sai Sha development in Shap Sze Heung, which is located between Sai Kung and Ma On Shan. 'Sierra Sea is a large-scale development project, so the developer has launched the first batch at a relatively favourable price to attract buyers' attention,' said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. Advertisement The attractive pricing comes at a time of heightened uncertainty brought about by a worsening trade war between the US and China, Chan said.
South China Morning Post
27-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's home prices fall towards decade low on interest rate, tariff headwinds
Home prices in Hong Kong's secondary property market dropped for a third straight month in February to near the lowest in a decade amid concerns about slower cuts in interest rates and heightened tensions in global trade stoked by extra US tariffs on foreign goods. Advertisement Lived-in home prices retreated 0.9 per cent in February from the preceding month to the lowest since July 2016, according to an index compiled by the Rating and Valuation Department. Prices have declined every month since January 2022 versus year-earlier levels - a cumulative drop of 27 per cent, the data showed. The trend suggests bolder measures may be needed to boost confidence among homebuyers and shore up demand. Official efforts in October to ease mortgage financing rules have produced a short-lived bounce as a new round of trade hostilities erupted last month. Chances of further interest-rate cuts have diminished amid renewed worries about inflation. The latest data 'reflects the sluggish Lunar New Year market in late January and early February, coupled with uncertainties stemming from the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady,' said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. Fresh tariffs on Chinese goods, following President Donald Trump's inauguration in late January, also softened market sentiment, he added. The Fed and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have kept their key rates on hold in the past two policy meetings, after cutting it three times from September to December last year. Gains in stock prices and government incentives in the form of lower stamp duties on property transactions could help stabilise demand at current levels, according to Eddie Kwok, executive director of valuation and advisory services at CBRE Hong Kong. Prices, however, may struggle to appreciate, he added. Advertisement 'We see residential prices bottoming out,' Kwok said. 'However, as developers are pushing units [in new launches] to capture pent up demand, it might be difficult to record a strong rebound.' Any upside in home prices may be seen in the primary housing market, he added.
