Past Blogs | Colliers

Aug 4, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Wong Chuk Hang becomes a focus for investors

Wong Chuk Hang has developed rapidly supported by government initiatives and will become an area of commercial towers, upmarket residential developments, and shopping malls.

Jul 28, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Tackling land shortage and cautious investment sentiment

Land and home shortages are battleground issues for Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said recently that Hong Kong has enough land for development but planning processes need to be simplified to speed up the release of supply to tackle the housing crisis.

Jul 26, 2021

Senior living; Hong Kong’s sleeping giant

The megatrend of ageing populations is something that is challenging cities all over the world. It’s pressing nature means we’re facing a situation where we will soon have more people at extreme old age, than young people.

Jul 23, 2021

Land Sales Programme | July Update

The Hon Kong SAR government will offer 15 new residential sites in this fiscal year (April 2021 – March 2022), four of which are located on Hong Kong Island. Two government land sale sites will be made available in the second half of 2021-22.

Jul 21, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Recovering demand and growing confidence shaping the market

In a market that has started to see institutional investors step off the sidelines, we have seen overall investment activity become more active as stakeholders seek opportunities before the market rebounds.

Jul 7, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Two notable real estate market trends

In this Weekly Snippet, our experts share their observations of the trends in the office and retail property investment markets.

Jun 30, 2021

Weekly Snippet | What’s in it for occupiers in the office leasing and secondary residential markets?

In the latest Weekly Snippet, Wang Cheung of Office Services and Angus Luk of Valuation & Advisory Services share their on-the-ground market observations of the office leasing and residential sectors.

Jun 23, 2021

Weekly Snippet | A comeback of flexible workspace and an increase of F&B expansions

We have continued to see positivity in the property market amid the early sign of economic recovery. On the retail front, rising local consumption has stimulated demand for F&B, and Cynthia Ng of Retail Services has seen the increase in expansions of F&B operators in the market.

Jun 18, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Easing market conditions continue to grow confidence

The luxury home market has seen record-breaking transactions in recent months, as buyers’ confidence continues to return due to improving market conditions.

Jun 16, 2021

Adapt, Adjust, Accommodate

“Adapt, adjust, accommodate,” a phrase traditionally associated with Eastern Yogic philosophy, has become an important mantra for the hotel industry over the past year.

Jun 11, 2021

Land Sales Programme | June Update

Kwu Tung Area 24 is part of the April to June 2021 Land Sale Programme and is a rolled over site from the 2020-2021 Land Sale Programme.

Jun 10, 2021

Leveraging data-driven insights to accelerate success

Actionable research has always been a tool to support the decision-making process. Today, from the primary author of ‘Greater Bay Area: A 2030 Outlook’ and ‘The future landscape of the Hong Kong data centre market’, Rosanna Tang sees it as one of the most important aspects for real estate professionals, especially when the market has so much uncertainty.

Jun 10, 2021

Hot demand for cold storage

Cold storage , a sub-sector of industrial properties to store, pack, and distribute temperature-sensitive and perishable products, has recently emerged as one of the most appealing niche asset classes in Hong Kong.

Jun 9, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Hong Kong property market showing signs of optimism

We have seen visible signs of recovery in Hong Kong’s economy this year. Real GDP resumed with appreciable YoY growth of 7.9%, ending six consecutive quarters of contraction.

Jun 4, 2021

Hong Kong residential market dazzles

Without a crystal ball, one must look at both the global and local economic drivers and at Colliers we believe that they continue to point in one direction – up.

Jun 2, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Re-opening of the borders to boost property investment and residential markets

The weather has been heating up, and so has the Hong Kong property investment and China residential markets. Entering into Q2, Backy Fung of Capital Markets & Investment Services observed that investment momentum has spread to the office, retail and site re-development sectors.

May 27, 2021

Colliers – a great place to nurture young, emerging talents

Utilising young, emerging talent is a fundamental at Colliers. We have a strong demographic of young leaders that we foster closely by equipping them with industry leading knowledge, exposing them to a collaborative culture, and empowering them to be enterprising to lead our industry into the future.

May 26, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Now should be a good time to snap up deals at attractive rates

As economic activity picks up in Hong Kong, there have been a few notable retail and residential leasing trends in the market.

May 13, 2021

The impact of climate risk on real estate valuation

The global business community is now seeing the financial implications of climate change. From intensified wildfires, typhoons, and other natural disasters, to increased severity of flooding in Hong Kong, acute shocks are demonstrating the necessity for investors to mitigate underlying and emerging environmental and social risks.

May 12, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Office and retail sectors recovering in parallel with Hong Kong’s economy

There has been continued economic growth and lower unemployment recorded in the first quarter of 2021. Hong Kong’s economy has rebounded with a 7.8% YOY growth, posting an 11-year high and ending the prolonged contraction since the third quarter in 2019.

May 11, 2021

2021-22 Land Sale Programme | May update

The Lands Department announced on 27 April that the tender for the Fanling Sheung Shui Town Lot No. 279 at Area 25, Kwu Tung, New Territories, was awarded to the highest tenderer.

May 7, 2021

Secrets for success within the competitive real estate industry

At Colliers, our enterprising culture enables our people to do their best work. As an ex-international rugby player, discipline, hard work and being able to listen and communicate are important attributes that Niall Rowark of Office Services brings to the table.

May 5, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Hong Kong office market displaying signs of improvement

While a number of multinational companies, especially those in the banking sector have downsized their office footprints, we have observed that other companies have taken advantage of attractive rental packages and increased availability to relocate to more prestigious locations.

May 3, 2021

Rebalancing within Hong Kong SAR’s office sector

The Hong Kong SAR has a long-standing reputation of vying to be one of the most, if not the most, expensive office leasing markets in the world.

Apr 27, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Prospect of the Southern District and the changing retail rental landscape

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the social situation in Hong Kong, the housing market has been resilient and the being the least affected sector.

Apr 22, 2021

Leveraging ESG knowledge to add value

At Colliers, we are committed to maximising the potential of property to accelerate the success of our clients and our people. An area of specific focus includes improvement of performance through the adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations and practices.

Apr 21, 2021

Weekly Snippet | What’re the housing and office leasing markets up to?

Housing supply has been a long-standing problem in Hong Kong. To contribute to relieving the problem and speed up the development of new housing, the government said they would not rule out the possibility of revisiting a shelved vacancy tax proposal for unsold homes.

Apr 20, 2021

2021-22 Land Sale Programme | April Forecast

The Lands Department announced on March 23 that there will be a residential and a commercial site to be disposed of by public tender in the 2020-21 Land Sale Programme.

Apr 14, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Improved Q1 sentiment creates positive market outlook

The first quarter saw economic uncertainties still cloud the real estate market’s outlook. For the retail sector, large size premium brand expansions remained quiet in core locations, and luxury brands continued to scale back their operations.

Apr 8, 2021

Colliers’ experts – seeing things differently

Having an enterprising spirit is ingrained in Colliers’ culture. Our professionals embrace change and think differently to turn today’s challenges into future opportunities. Meet one of our valuation experts, Nancy Chan, who illustrates how we see what could be. She also shares how our brand values guide her day-to-day work.

Mar 30, 2021

Weekly Snippet | Increasing activity instils positive momentum in Hong Kong’s property market

Hong Kong’s real estate market has seen an increase in activity, especially in the office leasing and investment sectors. For occupiers, inspections have increased since Chinese New Year, and there is a greater consideration for Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) as a decentralisation move.

Mar 23, 2021

Weekly Snippet | New opportunities emerge in the current high-vacancy market

Amid an economic downturn, there has been an increase in firms – from co-working space providers to finance companies and retailers – surrendering their spaces before contracts expire; however, our experts have not seen a further climb in vacancy due to leasing momentum slowed. Instead, they have seen new opportunities emerge.

Mar 16, 2021

Weekly snippet | New land premiums pilot scheme’s implications for investors and developers

The Development Bureau introduced a two-year pilot scheme, which has started imposing land premiums at standard rates for the redevelopment of industrial buildings built before 1987 on 15 March.

Mar 11, 2021

Collaboration – the key to a successful real estate ecosystem

Hong Kong’s real estate industry operates with a unique ecosystem. Stakeholders need to collaborate, so they are aware of each other, know what they are doing and leverage opportunities where possible - and ultimately thrive.

Mar 11, 2021

Weekly snippet | Opportunities for both office and retail occupiers in core locations

Across the office and retail sectors, landlords have become more flexible and are open to negotiation to secure longer and preferable lease terms. The Hong Kong Market Outlook 2021 hinted at softer leasing momentum but anticipated the office sector would bottom out by the of Q2 with retail experiencing an uptick from the low base experienced in 2020.

Mar 8, 2021

2020-21 Land Sale Programme | March Update

The close of 2020 saw a record-breaking land sale on the Victoria Peak, with a Wharf Holdings Ltd. led consortium paying US$1.5 billion for a plot that became the most expensive residential site sold by government tender. This bid was higher than market value and reflects the confidence of developers in the sectors outlook, especially for luxury housing.

Mar 3, 2021

Weekly snippet | All eyes on industrial investment opportunities

Hong Kong real estate investment was comparatively subdued in 2020, with institutional investors and funds adopting a safety-first approach and choosing to see out market uncertainty before committing any capital. Keeping a diligent view of the market, Colliers’ research identified industrial assets – specifically data centres and cold storage – and overall growth in activity in China as areas to watch at the start of the year.

Feb 26, 2021

Addressing alternative residential development opportunities

Despite COVID-19, Hong Kong’s housing market has been the least affected sector and has proved to be resilient with only a slight drop of -0.5% Year-on-Year (YoY) in overall growth on the average price of a residential unit.

Feb 25, 2021

Investing time to find the right solution

At Colliers, our people are our greatest asset. While providing the right platform to succeed is important, we also need to ensure that our experts provide clients with the confidence that they have a partner they can trust.

Feb 23, 2021

Weekly snippet | Increased activity drives early market sentiment

This week will see Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po announce the 2021/22 Hong Kong Budget. Despite the city seeing economic improvement towards the end of last year, its recovery is far from complete and requires the government to take decisive action to stimulate economic growth and re-energise core revenue streams, and where possible, explore new sources of commerce for the city

Jan 28, 2021

Doing what’s right to create positive change

A passion for doing what’s right underpins everything we do at Colliers. From respecting our internal relationships, to delivering enduring value to our clients, enhancing the quality of experiences in our communities defines our approach.

Jan 20, 2021

Where does Hong Kong SAR go from here?

As of 1 July 2019, rents in Central stood at an average of HK$150 sq. ft. with vacancy rates at circa 2% throughout the CBD - the highest level and lowest prolonged level on record, for rents and vacancy, respectively.

Jan 14, 2021

Be the expert for your clients

‘Unprecedented’ has become a sound bite for 2020. As cliché as it may seem, even in context of the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, stakeholders in the property investment market are truly experiencing something for the first time.

Jan 7, 2021

Year of the Ox: grabbing opportunity by the horns

The Year of the Ox, a hardworking and methodical animal, has the makings of being a positive and productive period in Hong Kong. Like this zodiacal projection, we anticipate that our hard-working population will be rewarded as it emerges from a near two-year recession, with firm growth as Mainland China starts to kick on, recommencing positive economic momentum.

Dec 17, 2020

The XRL site: A new landmark and GBA business hub

The completion of the XRL commercial project, totaling 3.2 million sq. ft. of GFA, is expected to transform West Kowloon into a new and strategic commercial hub for cross-border businesses, capital and talent flow.

Nov 19, 2020

Partnering with clients adds value

Market uncertainty has created a shift in the expectation of clients. Office Services’ Eugene Yip shares how getting closer to the needs of his clients, and even challenging their way of thinking, has enabled him to provide clarity and solutions most relevant to their business.

Nov 11, 2020

A market for occupiers to be resilient and ambitious

Since before the start of 2020, Hong Kong’s real estate had been operating with caution embedded into its local and global decision-making processes.

Nov 5, 2020

Success that exceed expectations

Being successful could be seen as a byproduct of working hard. For talents like Pureanae Jang, working hard is the byproduct of being successful. Sharing how being enterprising keeps her driven with a need to achieve, the recently promoted Associate Director who now leads the Valuation & Advisory Services Investor Services Team takes five-minutes to share a little more about her background and what keeps her focused.

Oct 22, 2020

Accelerating your success with L&D

Continually learning and developing your skills are fundamental parts of being a professional. That’s especially true according to Valuation and Advisory Services latest recruit, Brian Leong.

Oct 16, 2020

Property Valuation – an integral element in real estate ecosystem

There has been a saying that the real estate industry is like an ecosystem, where every stakeholder - including the Government, occupiers, investors, developers, banks, professional advisors (like liquidators) and so on - work closely together, relying on each other to thrive.

Oct 8, 2020

Clients are partners too

It’s all about investing in relationships. At least that’s what Capital Markets and Investment Services ’ Russell Lam believes.

Sep 25, 2020

What does the Trustbridge WeWork deal mean for the flexible workspace market?

At the beginning 2020, we anticipated that the overall demand from Asia’s flexible workspace operators would be less than half the level recorded in 2019.

Sep 17, 2020

Work hard and keep moving forward

Generally, your effort reflects reward. For Office Services’ Sayaka Matsumoto, this couldn’t be more fitting as when she goes about her business, whether at Colliers or in her personal life, the mantra is built around one simple principle - hard work.

Sep 3, 2020

Returning to where it began

Real estate has always been in the cross hairs for Erica. After joining Colliers for a brief spell as an intern over a decade ago, we catch up with our latest senior recruit as she opens up on why now is the right time to join the investment team and how she firmly has her sights set on performance and establishing a leading role.

Sep 2, 2020

Recentralisation – seizing the flight-for-quality options in the CBD

In Hong Kong, the heightened US-China geopolitical tension coupled with the fluctuation of the COVID-19 pandemic locally has continued to weigh on the office rental performance. In 2020, we forecast overall Grade A office rents will fall 14% YOY, with a bigger correction of 18% YOY in the CBD (Central and Admiralty).

Aug 20, 2020

Collaboration is the key to success

Real estate is a traditional component of the Hong Kong landscape and economy. However, adopting a slightly unorthodox route to work at Colliers - pivoting from running his own real estate business - Shaman Chellaram, Senior Director, Capital Markets and Investment Services, reflects on his time so far at Colliers as he discusses how collaboration has helped him integrate into the business, not just in Hong Kong, but Globally.

Aug 17, 2020

What next for New Central Harbourfront Site 3?

On 26 June, the Government announced that the New Central Harbourfront Commercial Site 3 will be included in the Land Sale Programme of July to September 2020. Having considered the prime location of Site 3 and its design requirements, a “two-envelope” approach will be adopted by the Government for tendering both the design and price submissions.

Aug 12, 2020

Valuation in the flexible workspace sector

The topic of flexible workspace valuation has been of interest to investors, asset owners, operators and debt providers alike, as the effects of COVID-19 have amplified the need for a clear and consistent approach to valuation, as the sector comes under scrutiny.

Aug 6, 2020

Richie Lau discusses 'what makes a good broker'

Hong Kong born, focused on real estate, and attracted to Colliers by its international status. With two significant recent wins under his belt, we speak to Richie Lau, Colliers Director, who is one of the many dedicated, unsung critical team members from Office Services.

Aug 3, 2020

What next for Hong Kong’s flexible workspace sector?

Flexible workspace has undergone exponential growth. But the impact of social unrest and COVID-19 are re-shaping its position and overall demand. Over the last five years, WeWork – fueled by Soft Bank’s Vision Fund – thrived, taking up market share across multiple regions. WeWork now finds itself handing back space in some markets, creating something of a power vacuum that will lead to a fragmentation of operator market share.

Jul 30, 2020

Hong Kong real estate investment market sees signs of recovery, but subject to COVID-19’s third wave

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on the Hong Kong investment market, especially those sectors with assets that are closely linked to the global environment, such as retail and hospitality. Yet, in the second quarter, Hong Kong started to show signs of activity with private investors making the first moves leading to some improvement.

Jul 22, 2020

Real estate undergoes multi-sector price corrections

Hong Kong’s property market is witnessing volatility with a multi-sector price correction leaving investors, occupiers and owners in extended negotiations to find a price that best supports their flexed short and long-term strategies.

Jun 30, 2020

Tenant centric market creates opportunity to recentralise

Lower rents than 2018, improved amenities and an abundance of available premises - everything a tenant wants to hear, right? The legacy of COVID-19 will be long lasting but the short-term impact on the office leasing market is offering new opportunities as Hong Kong’s changing rental landscape enables occupiers to leverage their strategy to better meet the needs of their business.

Jun 11, 2020

Hong Kong needs to unlock China's tourism

Hong Kong likes a plan. Its success is largely built on having direction that interlinks the real estate and business sectors. This year, the outbreak of COVID-19 coupled with the social unrest has created a wait and see attitude and it’s now determining the direction of the hotel, leisure, tourism, and pretty much every other sector.

May 13, 2020

Demand for data means greater opportunities for Hong Kong

Hong Kong has a long history as China’s gateway to the world, and in the past few decades has become a hub for corporate regional headquarters, especially for financial institutions.

May 11, 2020

Transparent and consistent commercial space measurements in Hong Kong

In real estate, size matters. With offices in particular, size affects every element of property decision-making, from assessing workspace layout and suitability to planning and predicting likely running costs, fit-out expenses and reinstatement values.

Apr 21, 2020

Data centres present an opportunity for investors in 2020

The current pandemic situation is leading to increased demand for data services. Closure of schools, working from home policies and social distancing have placed greater demand on web-based platforms such as online meetings and classes.

Mar 30, 2020

Designed for resilience

With business continuity a core concern as staff around the world are forced to work remotely, the need for an agile workforce has become critically apparent. In Hong Kong, teams which are now returning to work should consider how redesigning their space could be beneficial, both for improved health and wellness, and to be able to better manage such crises in the future.

Mar 10, 2020

Update: COVID-19 Q&A with Nigel Smith

Here in Hong Kong, we are frequently asked - whether by overseas family, partners and clients, and even the media - how the coronavirus outbreak has affected our lives and our business.

Feb 26, 2020

History repeats itself - another treasure hunting season starts

The Hong Kong investment market has been facing a challenging environment amid the double whammy of the prolonged US-China trade war and the ongoing local demonstrations.

Oct 10, 2019

Digital Banking - Virtual Banks

Despite increasing uncertainty in the global economy and financial markets, Hong Kong’s banking industry and systems remain stable. In fact, in order keep up with new trends, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granted eight virtual banking licenses in 2019, bringing Hong Kong banks into the ‘neo bank era’ and leading banks to search and incorporate digital technologies, data management, and innovations into their operations and services.

Oct 4, 2019

Insurance connect – A win-win initiative for insurance in the GBA

The Greater Bay Area (GBA) Development Plan integrates Hong Kong, Macau, and nine mainland cities across the Pearl River Delta, and plans to unify science and technology, financial regulations, and even a certain degree of tax coordination in three different administrative regions.

Sep 26, 2019

Interning with Colliers – Angelica Cheung

Meet Angelica Cheung, she’s a student hailing all the way from Toronto, Canada who joined us a two-month summer internship program in the Marketing and Communications team.

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