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Do We Need to Be in Hong Kong?’ Global Companies Are Eyeing the Exits

Apprehensive about Hong Kong’s future as the best place to do business in China and beyond, multinational firms are pulling up stakes, adding to uncertainty about the outlook for one of the world’s premier commercial cities.

Buffeted by political upheaval, an authoritarian crackdown by mainland China and the pandemic, global companies and professionals are heading to rival business cities such as Singapore, and to Shanghai, the Chinese commercial hub some see as a better place to profit from the nation’s vast economy.

Ever since the U.K. returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, the city’s leaders have billed the semiautonomous territory as “Asia’s World City”—an open society with a British-style legal system where foreign professionals could feel at home. Today, Hong Kong is becoming less open and more fused to the mainland economy.

Some companies, including banks and other financial institutions, still view Hong Kong as crucial to their China-focused business models and are digging in for the future. Others are eyeing the exit, concluding the city no longer holds the prospects it once did.

“Being in Hong Kong always used to be a no-brainer,” said Frederik Gollob, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in the city. “Now, for the first time, businesses are having discussions around, do we need to be in Hong Kong?”

In a survey of members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong released last month, 42% of the 325 respondents said they were considering or planning to leave the city, citing uneasiness over China’s new security law and a pessimistic outlook of Hong Kong’s future.

Dozens of international companies have moved regional headquarters or offices from the city since 2019, government data show. That has contributed to the highest rate of commercial real estate vacancies in 15 years, with more than 80% of the vacant space surrendered by international companies, data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield show. All told, more people—expatriates and locals—departed the business hub in 2020 than any year since the global financial crisis.

In January, VF Corp., owner of Timberland, the North Face and other brands, said it was shutting its 900-person Hong Kong office after 25 years in the city. Japanese videogame maker Sony Interactive Entertainment has moved regional executives to Singapore. European luxury-goods company LVMH said it was relocating some Hong Kong-based employees from its Moët Hennessy liquor unit. French cosmetics giant L’Oréal also said it was relocating some staffers from its Hong Kong headquarters.

Hong Kong boosters predict that, once the pandemic lifts, the city will emerge stronger as its businesses profit from deeper integration with the mainland. Pessimists see it gradually atrophying around a few core industries useful to China, such as finance.

Hong Kong Commerce Secretary Edward Yau said the majority of foreign firms still believe that Hong Kong is the place for doing business, encouraged by growing opportunities with major Chinese cities. “We will continue to monitor the situation and provide the best help we can offer,” he said at a recent press conference, referring to the American Chamber of Commerce survey.

Under China’s long-term plan, Hong Kong will become part of a 70 million person “greater bay area” economic zone that includes the neighboring tech city of Shenzhen and the gambling mecca of Macau. Stephen Phillips, who runs Hong Kong’s investment promotion bureau, InvestHK, said that arrangement will become the economic engine for growth and a major business opportunity in the coming years.

He said the biggest issue for Hong Kong is getting through the Covid epidemic, and that China’s new security law for Hong Kong hasn’t had a major impact on business. “Each business will make its own decision,” he said. “But the vast majority don’t see it as a risk.”

Changed view

Hong Kong once pitched itself as a bridge between East and West. Now, for some businesses, Hong Kong is no longer global enough to serve as a regional headquarters. For others focused on doing business in China, the city isn’t as tapped in to the mainland economy as Shanghai.

Denver-based VF is moving the Hong Kong positions responsible for its China sales and marketing to Shanghai, where they will be nearer the stores and giant online retailers crucial to its business. Employees responsible for managing its regional network of manufacturers and suppliers will relocate to Singapore, a Chinese- and English-speaking country of 5.7 million people with a strong business infrastructure. Although Singapore’s laws also limit free speech, it has an established free-market approach to business.

VF said its move reflected changing economic trends and efforts to better serve consumers, not China’s intervention in the city.

L’Oreal said it is building up in Singapore and Shanghai as it reduces its presence in Hong Kong. The restructuring, it said, is designed to give greater coherence to its business by creating a Southeast Asia, Middle East and North Africa zone run from Singapore, and a North Asia zone run from Shanghai.

Sony Interactive and Moët said they have moved some employees to Singapore. Both declined to comment further on their moves.

Hong Kong’s transformation accelerated in 2019 with mass demonstrations against Beijing’s intervention in the island that was meant to largely govern itself under a concept known as “one country, two systems.” Months of clashes between police and students shook the city’s reputation as a safe and stable place to do business.

Beijing cracked down on the protests in June 2020 and pushed through a national security law that granted the Chinese government power to intervene in Hong Kong’s legal system, while authorizing its secret police to enforce vague statutes such as against foreign collusion. On Friday, thousands of people defied a huge police presence and threats of jail to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

After China announced its crackdown, South Korean internet search company Naver Corp. said it was deleting its Hong Kong-based backup servers and moving them to Singapore to protect user data.

Technology companies including Facebook and Alphabet Inc.’s Google dropped plans to connect Hong Kong and the U.S. with undersea data cables after U.S. security officials signaled opposition to the plans.

At Asian Tigers Hong Kong, a relocation firm serving international executives, moves into Hong Kong have declined 50% since 2019, while moves out increased by 30%, said Chief Executive Rob Chipman, an American who moved to Hong Kong in the 1980s.

“I saw a lot of longtime Hong Kong stayers who were leaving, people like me who came out for a usual three-year stint and 30-years later are still here, loving it, married with kids, owning businesses,” Mr. Chipman said. “So even some of those people are saying, ‘Wait a minute, something’s going on here. Maybe it’s time to leave.’ ”

Some 40,000 more Hong Kong residents departed the city in 2020 than those who entered intending to reside there, government figures show. All told, Hong Kong’s population of about 7.5 million shrank by 46,500 in 2020—the second contraction since it was returned to China.

Sandra Boch, an Austrian mother of one who moved to Hong Kong 15 years ago to set up a specialty fabrics and stationery business, left in November. While the 2019 unrest disrupted her business, the 2020 national security law, she said, was the last straw. She packed up her business and moved to Singapore.

The law, she said, “was a clear sign from China that they are taking control of Hong Kong now, and everything will get more controlled from that point out. We no longer felt safe.”

British authorities have opened the doors for local holders of pre-handover U.K. passports to immigrate permanently to the U.K., and they estimate more than 300,000 Hong Kongers—about 4% of Hong Kong’s total population—may come over five years.

New entrants

Hong Kong boosters predict companies that closed offices will be replaced by other firms moving in, including from mainland China. In the 12 months ending June 3, 2020, the latest information available, mainland Chinese companies opened 63 new regional headquarters and offices in Hong Kong, an increase of 12% from the year-earlier period. During the same period, U.S. companies—the biggest international presence in Hong Kong—closed 45 headquarters and offices, or 6% of their total, government figures show.

Falling rents in Hong Kong have attracted others to enter or expand, said Mr. Phillips of InvestHK. Japanese food retailer Don Don Donki and the French sporting-goods seller Decathlon both expanded in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong remains attractive to the financial-services industry. With its modern markets, freely convertible currency and connections to the mainland, Hong Kong is unrivalled when it comes to financing China. Mainland China’s newly minted superrich are an attractive target for Hong Kong-based wealth-management firms. A string of stock offerings by Chinese tech giants have put the Hong Kong exchange in the No. 3 spot globally for such listings.

U.K.-based banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC said in February it would invest $6 billion in its Hong Kong-based Asia business, of which Hong Kong is by far its most lucrative market.

Last year, HSBC’s Asia-Pacific head, Peter Wong, demonstrated support for Beijing’s national-security law after a Hong Kong politician said the bank could be punished unless it did. Later that year, it froze accounts of a prominent Hong Kong democracy activist who had fled the city.

Facing criticism from U.K. lawmakers who accused the bank of appeasing China, HSBC Chief Executive Noel Quinn told them that the bank didn’t drop customers or freeze accounts for political reasons, and reiterated the bank’s commitment to Hong Kong. HSBC declined to comment for this article.

Some large banks, although optimistic about continuing to do business in Hong Kong, are quietly running contingency scenarios to ascertain what they would do if they lost access to their Hong Kong infrastructure and had to operate out of another city, people familiar with such plans said.

“People ask, can I still do whatever I want and say whatever I want?” said Allan Zeman, a foreign-born real-estate developer who has advised Hong Kong’s current government and years ago gave up his Canadian passport for a China-issued one. “Yes. I still do whatever I want and say whatever I want, as long as I choose not to be an antagonist.”

 

Corrections & Amplifications
Hong Kong’s currency is freely convertible but is pegged to the U.S. dollar. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the Hong Kong dollar was free-floating. And Sandra Boch, an Austrian mother of one who moved to Hong Kong 15 years ago to set up a specialty fabrics and stationery business, left in November. An earlier version of this article misidentified her nationality, the number of her children and the month she left Hong Kong. (Corrected on June 7)

 

Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: June 6, 2021

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House Prices Increase At Highest Quarterly Rate In A Decade

Australian house prices are rising at the highest quarterly rate in 10 years, according to the latest Real Estate Market Facts report from the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

According to REIA President, Adrian Kelly, the weighted average capital city median price increased by 6.8% for houses and by 2.7% for other dwellings.

“Over the March quarter, the weighted average median house price for the eight capital cities rose to $873,911 with all cities increasing except Canberra. At $1,309,195, Sydney’s median house price continues to be the highest amongst the capital cities, 49.8% higher than the national average.  At $500,000, Perth has the lowest median house price across Australian capital cities, 42.8% lower than the national average.

“Over the 12 months to the March quarter, the weighted average capital city median house price increased by 11.1%.

“The weighted average median price for other dwellings for the eight capital cities increased to $621,313, a quarterly increase of 2.7%,” said Mr Kelly.

Mr Kelly also added that median prices for other dwellings increased in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Hobart and Darwin, remained steady in Brisbane and Canberra but decreased in Adelaide.

The median rent for 3-bedroom houses increased in all capital cities over the March quarter to a median of $452.50 per week.

“Over the past 12 months, the median rent increased in all capital cities except Melbourne where it remained steady.  Darwin had the highest annual growth at 17.3% and now has the second highest rent at $538.50 a week with Canberra the highest at $570 per week.

According to the report, the national capital city vacancy rate is at 3.3% primarily up due to Melbourne’s rate of 6.1%.

Mr Kelly concluded the growth coincides with the April 2021 Lending to Households and Business figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics which show that the value of new loan commitments for housing rose for the second consecutive month after a brief fall in February which came after eight consecutive months of growth.

 

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Three Melbourne Penthouses For Sale

True to form, Melbourne’s luxury penthouse market is awash with effortlessly appointed elegant abodes.

Here, we’ve collated three of the best on the market right now.

Level 59, Aspire Residences, 299 King Street, Melbourne

Arriving in timeless style is this full-floor 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom, 4 car garage residence. Located above Aspire Melbourne, the upper-most 14 levels are dedicated to some of the most luxurious apartment living on offer, with level 59 – listed here – offering the full floor.

Uninterrupted views of Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne CBD, Port Phillip Bay and beyond are at hand, while the residence’s central location puts it at the fingertips of the best Melbourne has to offer.

Inside, cutting-edge contemporary style permeates the 639sqm apartment, which has been designed by acclaimed interior architect David Hicks. Here, the lift opens to the apartment’s private lobby and formal lounge, dining room, cocktail lounge,  complete with a fireplace.

The open plan kitchen arrives with the butler’s pantry and includes top of the range Gaggenau appliances and fully integrated Sub-zero refrigeration.

Elsewhere the master bedroom offers views across Melbourne CBD and Port Phillip Bay and features expansive customisable robes as well as a master ensuite with custom curved bath and double vanity.

The luxurious penthouse is set for completion early 2023 with an asking price of $9,983,000; aspireresidences.com.au

 

The Penthouse, 7 Bowen Crescent, Melbourne

Located in a prestigious Gurner development that encompasses the city skyline arrives yet another David Hicks penthouse.

The spectacular in scale entrance foyer features dark stained parquetry floors that leads one through to the open plan living, dining and entertaining space surround by 270-degree full height glass affording sensational views.

From here, the living area extended to a mammoth private sun-terrace, perfect for entertaining.

The premium kitchen is a chef’s delight arriving in Carrara marble with Gaggenau and Liebherr appliances throughout.

A lavish main bedroom lands with a dressing room, marble ensuite alongside two additional bedrooms with coordinating ensuites and built-in robes.

Up the curved staircase, or via the private lift, one arrives at the 4th bedroom or retreat with a built-in robe.

Situated within walking distance to the Botanic Gardens, the Domain a, Albert Park and more, the home features a 4-basement car space and access to Albert Place’s hotel-style amenities.

The listing is with Marshall White’s Nicholas Hoo with a price guide of $7-$7.7 million; marshallwhite.com.au

 

Residence 6.01/409 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

 

Positioned on the corner of Toorak Road West and St Kilda road this podium floor residence arrives with sweeping north facing views of the CBD, Botanic Gardens and Fawkner Park.

The oversized, 3-bedroom, 5-bathroom, 5-car parking podium Penthouse offers 530sqm of internal living plus a further 200sqm external. Arriving with soaring ceilings, the main living space is decorated with European oak timber flooring in a herringbone pattern and floor to ceiling windows to take in those expansive views.

Also here is the large, luxuriously appointed kitchen featuring stunning oak cabinetry, top-grade marble, Gaggenau and Sub Zero appliances and a Christopher Boots pendant light as a feature.

The bedroom wing is informed by a large master with marble ensuite and bathtub, walk-in robes, while two more large bedrooms with ensuites while a guest room rounds out the offering.

Residents of The Muse will have the ability to access hotel-style services and facilities including 24/7 concierge services, 5-star wellness centre including spa, retreat, gym, swimming pool and also a luxurious club lounge with private meeting room facilities.

The listing is managed by Daniel Cashen, with an asking price of $16,500,000; themusemelbourne.com.au

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Mystery Buyer Pays Over $200 Million For Two Condos On New York’s Billionaires’ Row

Two condos at New York’s 220 Central Park South have sold for a combined approx. $203 million (US$157.5 million). It is one of the city’s priciest residential transactions of all time.

Property records show a buyer paid approx. $106.3 million (US$82.5 million) for a unit on the 60th floor and approx. $96.6 million (US$75 million) for the floor above. The purchase was made through a limited-liability company; the identity of the buyer couldn’t immediately be determined.

Both units are resales and the sellers, whose identities were also shielded by limited-liability companies, made significant profits. Last year the lower level traded for US$50.9 million, while the upper level sold for US$51.4 million, records show.

The mega-tower currently holds the record for the priciest sale in the U.S. In 2019, hedge funder Ken Griffin purchased a penthouse for roughly US$238 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, 220 Central Park South has attracted other high-profile buyers including Daniel Och of Och-Ziff Capital Management and musician Sting and his wife Trudie Styler.

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The Endless Cleanup at China’s Most Indebted Property Developer

Dogs bark, horses neigh, and investors worry about the financial health of China’s most leveraged property developer. The pattern is almost uncannily routine, but the latest drama at China Evergrande Group still bears watching.

The most recent wobble relates to the company’s relationship with Shengjing Bank, a regional lender in which it began buying a stake five years ago. Mainland Chinese media reports suggested that regulators are examining the bank’s transactions with Evergrande. Last week Chinese regulators warned that some small and midsize banks had exploited restrained property lending by their larger peers to expand their own exposure.

The company said on Monday that its financial links with Shengjing Bank were legally sound. Last week, Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yan promised to get on the good side of one of the government’s three red lines for property-developer leverage by the end of the month, doubling down on plans in the company’s last annual report.

Markets don’t seem entirely convinced that all is fine. On Friday, the yield on Evergrande’s dollar bonds maturing in March next year reached 19.8%. That is not anything like the near-30% levels of September last year, during the last panic about the company’s financial future, but it is up by more than 10 percentage points in the past two weeks.

For investors, Evergrande has been both a dream and a nightmare. The company’s stock is borderline uninvestable for bulls and bears alike, swayed regularly by buybacks and highly concentrated ownership. But its bonds, perpetually priced as if the company is at serious risk of collapse, have been enormously profitable for iron-stomached believers in the company’s political nous.

That doesn’t mean its frenetic business model won’t catch up with it eventually. Paying down some of its mountain of debt sounds like a good idea. So why hasn’t Evergrande done it before? The simple answer is that the company’s business model requires relentless growth and constant financing. Its compound revenue growth rate over the past decade is around 35% a year, outstripping that of U.S. tech giants like Apple and Amazon.

Paying off its debts is not a matter of simply trying harder; it needs to find money to do so. The most obvious route is to lean on less organized creditors instead of banks and bond investors. At the end of 2020, the company had over 1 trillion yuan (A$201 billion) in trade payables and contract liabilities, owed to suppliers and home buyers respectively, up almost 20% from a year earlier. The contract liabilities figure is one to watch in particular.

Unless bearish investors think they have some specific political insight that has escaped even the sector’s insiders, there is no point trying to guess which minor crisis might finally deal the company a more serious blow. But just because it can’t be timed, doesn’t mean that the day won’t eventually come.

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How To Prepare For Short-Term Renters Next Door

My neighbour Bill just told us he is going to rent out his home on a short-term-rental site. Our neighbourhood has always been quiet and peaceful and filled with year-round, full-time residents, so this is new and sort of scary to all of us. How concerned should we be?

Signed, Bill’s Neighbour (a fictitious human)

Dear Bill’s Neighbour:

It was nice of Bill to mention that he was going to be renting the house. I note, however, that you did not say he asked if you would mind, so we have to assume he doesn’t care. Is Bill a little bit of a jerk? A “shovels his driveway but not the old lady across the street” kind of a guy? It doesn’t matter because Bill is now dead to us. You and your neighbours have to worry about yourselves.

The amount of concern you should have about the new, rotating cast of renters next door ranges from “none at all” to “Why is there a car in our pool?” To assist you and your community in dealing with this uninvited incursion by unknown vacationing-type people and other itinerants into your peaceful neighbourhood, here are the various types of short-term renters, and a colour-coded threat level and action plan for each.

Renter type: Invisible

Identified by: Nothing. You literally won’t know they’re there. They are quieter than the neighbours who own the house. This type of renter most likely represents the vast majority of short-term renters; people who just want a quiet family vacation somewhere cool in a nice house. Maybe some porch beers. Wave if you see them, which you won’t.

Threat level: Cellophane. A complete absence of threat. You don’t need to do anything unless you want to, which you won’t.

Renter type: Cool New Friends

Identified by: Musical selections—be it Lizzo, Kenny Chesney or The Carpenters—that coincidentally match yours and are played at socially appropriate hours and decibel levels. They beckon you to come over for drinks when they see you because they want to learn more about your interesting home town. You dig them. You swap emails and make plans to connect when you’re in their home town.

Threat level: Pink… for—LOVE them!!

Renter type: Gang of Inconsiderate Clods

Identified by: Large groups who you can hear talking even when inside your own house because they are always talking at the top of their lungs, though standing mere feet apart. Their cars fill your neighbour’s driveway, part of the street, and will, at some point, block you from leaving your driveway. They give you stink eye when approached about moving the cars. Their music and parties are not quite loud enough and not quite late enough to force you to call the cops, but you’re always a few seconds away from dialing those three magic numbers.

Threat level: Chartreuse. Ignore them to the extent possible. They will be gone in a week.

Renter type: Only People on the Planet

Identified by: Late night parties with music that appears to be entirely bass, screaming fights on the front yard, toddlers meandering aimlessly and unchaperoned on the street, animals of all sorts running off leash, at least three appearances by the cops. Hammering on your front door at 3 a.m. by confused/lost renters demanding to be let in or else they’ll “kick in your teeth.” These renters have zero respect for, indeed seem unaware of, the fact that they are not the only people on Earth.

Threat level: Red mist. Before you wake up in the backyard of Bill’s house with a gas can and a lighter, with no idea how you got there, have a heart to heart with him. Tell him his renters are not only destroying the fabric of the community and violating the town noise ordinances, but they are trying to saw up his wooden patio furniture for the fire pit, have dumped a bunch of green Jello powder into his pool, and are turning his garage door into a mural of some sort. Don’t feel bad about lying. It’s the least of the sins currently occurring on or near your property.

Renter type: Rave Advertised on TikTok

Identified by: Thousands and thousands of people. Unconscious or tweaking partiers everywhere, including your bathtub. (Does it matter at this point how they got there?) SWAT team response with National Guard unit on standby.

Threat level: For Sale. Move out as soon as you can. Then list with a local real-estate agent who is a good liar (redundancy alert), or find out which short-term-rental site Bill is using.

Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: June 3, 2021

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Allure Of Private Dining Will Remain After the Pandemic

During the height of Covid-19, private dining was an alternative to sharing a restaurant meal with loved ones. But even as the pandemic dwindles and eateries welcome guests again, intimate, five-star hospitality remains in high demand.

“People are eager to reconnect with family and friends, and there’s no better way to do that around the table than with great food and wine,” says James Henderson, CEO of Exclusive Resorts, an elite vacation club based in Denver, Colo., with locations across the globe.

While private dining has long been associated with celebrations such as birthdays and anniversaries, guests are gravitating toward intimate environments for everyday occasions as well. “Casual private dining experiences are starting to play a larger role in the hospitality industry, and I think these experiences will only continue to grow in popularity moving forward,” Henderson adds.

No matter the circumstances, the allure of private dining lies in the intimacy, exclusivity, and extraordinary experience that accompanies it, according to Brian Mommsen, founder and CEO of Resident, a New York-based company hosting bespoke dinners in unique venues. Launched in 2018, Resident collaborates with Michelin-trained chefs from Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Per Se, and other top-tier New York restaurants to curate upscale events for small groups.

Since March, the startup has collaborated with Exclusive Resorts to offer its members multi-course food and beverage tastings in the vacation club’s Residences at Park Avenue Place in Midtown Manhattan. A member can host a table for up to eight guests for US$2,000. Resident’s chef-driven menus include dishes such as roasted corn, prosciutto, miso, and grits; carrot mousse tartlet; and Long Island crescent duck with lentils and cabbage.

While the chef presents and tells in-depth stories about each dish tableside, an expert sommelier describes the wine and dining guests participate in the conversation.

“We have found that guests thrive on the opportunity to personally interact with our talent, learning about their inspiration for each course firsthand, and getting to know the face behind the food, which is an impossibility at most restaurants,” Mommsen says.

Resident, a New York-based company hosting bespoke dinners in unique venues, collaborates with Michelin-trained chefs from Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Per Se, and other top-tier New York restaurants to curate upscale events for small groups. Resident

David Pan and his wife, Tillie, of Orange Beach Concierge, based on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, have hosted intimate dinners for years. But due to the pandemic, the duo has restructured their well-received Chef’s Table to bring the concept to their guests, rather than have their guests coming to them.

Pan believes the attention put into each menu, the locally sourced ingredients and thoughtfully paired wines, along with dining in the comfort of one’s own home, all contribute to the appeal.

With an uptick in business over the past year, his team hosted more than 100 private dinners in 2020 and they’re on track to triple that number this year.

“We predict a heavy increase in 2021 and beyond, and from what our booking calendar looks like today, we are posed to beat 2019 bookings which was our most successful year in the history of our business,” Pan says. His menus include jumbo lump crab cake, goat fromage salad, and sous vide filet mignon with sable rice. Experiences range from US$175 to US$250 per person.

Lawrence Fairchild, proprietor of Stones Wine, Perrarus, and Fairchild Napa Valley, is set to debut House of Perrarus: A Stones Wine and Michelin three-star experience at his picturesque California estate. Deemed the “Hermés of wine” due to the exclusivity of his bottles, Fairchild offers his 95 to 100 point wines to members only, but will make them available to the public at his afternoon soirées, beginning in June.

The winemaker and the acclaimed Single Thread Farm—a farm, inn, and three Michelin-starred restaurant in Sonoma County—will curate five seasonal small plates paired with his wine collection: one Chardonnay, three Cabernet Sauvignons, and a Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc blend.

“This idea stemmed from our clients’ desires for a more private and tasting dining experience,” Fairchild says. During the mid-day fête, guests can sit indoors or outdoors, depending on their preference. Cost is US$500 per person with capacity up to 10 guests.

In October, Chef de Cuisine Michael Vitangeli premiered The Chef’s Table at Scarpetta in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Rooted in Italian tradition, the six-course interactive dinner is personal for Vitangeli. “My grandmother Emelia Vitangeli played the largest role in shaping my culinary career, so it only made sense that she influence the Chef’s Table experience itself,” he says.

Last summer, Chef Yann Nury outfitted a 1971 Airstream Safari and hit the road, cooking up warm weather-inspired fare for small groups. Courtesy Yann Nury

Vitangeli’s menu features homemade burrata, hand-pulled pasta, porchetta (pork belly), among other classics, plated alongside wine pairings presented by sommelier Kyle Asato. Staged in a dedicated dining room, the six-seat table overlooks the famous fountain show and Scarpetta’s kitchen, providing guests “a show from kitchen to table.” Vintangeli shares details and history on the dishes and wine to create a familial atmosphere. The cost is US$200 per guest.

The private fine dining trend has become more of a moveable feast, too. Last summer, Chef Yann Nury outfitted a 1971 Airstream Safari and hit the road, cooking up warm weather-inspired fare for small groups. His customized dinner parties start at US$15,000 for 12 people.

Although he and his team had always catered on the road, both domestically and abroad, they had never prepared gourmet dishes in a food truck. However, the chef considers the mobile kitchen to be a condensed version of what he had done before: focus on local delicacies and ingredients.

“It is in our DNA to bring our food and culinary experiences all around the world, but when Covid came, all this stopped suddenly,” Nury says. “I had to find a solution to stay afloat, but also to stay relevant.”

The French chef outfitted the Airstream with 19th-century oak floors, Charlotte Perriand lighting, Gaggenau appliances, a wine cellar, French copper pots, vintage Michelin guides, and fancy tableware before heading up and down the East Coast. In 2021 and beyond, Nury plans to spend summer in the East, fall out West, and winter in Florida, but he remains open to any destination.

“I believe it is the future of fine dining, a world that no one has paid enough attention to,” he says about the private dining trend. “It is, in reality, the ultimate luxury of culinary experiences.”

Reprinted by permission of Penta. Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: June 5, 2021

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COVID Withdrawals Drag Clearance Rates Down

A steady stream of sellers continues to flood national auction markets in record numbers as the winter selling season kicked off on Saturday June 5.

A total of 2697 homes were reported listed by the national auction capitals on Saturday – higher than the previous weekends 2505 – a record June offering and the second highest for the year so far.

National clearance rates, however, eased once again, reflecting the surge in listings alongside high withdrawals in a Melbourne market impacted by the COVID-related lockdown measures.

Saturday’s national clearance rate of 80.7% was the lowest of the year so far, below the previous weekend’s 82%.

The Sydney auction marked hosted another remarkable number of listings on Saturday to smash the June record for the number of properties auctioned. The city reported 1048 auctions on Saturday, higher than the previous weekend’s 981, and the second highest of the year so far.

The clearance rate lowered to 80.8% in Sydney on Saturday, lower than the previous weekend’s 82.2% but higher than the 57.9% recorded over the same weekend last year.

Despite the result being the lowest for the Harbour City this year, it marked the 17th consecutive weekend of clearance rates above 80%.

Sydney recorded a median price of $1,605,000 for houses sold at auction at the weekend which the same as reported over the previous Saturday but 17.8% higher than the $1,362,500 recorded over the same weekend last year. 

Melbourne reported a clearance rate of 72.2% which was lower than the 76.5% recorded the previous weekend and the lowest result since the 66.9% recorded over October 24th last year – also impacted by lockdown at that time.

Further, Melbourne reported a remarkable 1379 auctions on Saturday which was well ahead of the 1272 conducted the previous weekend and the second highest for the year so far.

Melbourne recorded a median price of $1,046,000 for houses sold at auction on the weekend which was higher than the $987,500 recorded over the previous weekend and 25.6% higher than the $833,000 recorded over the same weekend last year.

Data powered by Dr Andrew Wilson of My Housing Market.

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Prestige Property: 3804/439 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC

Spread over two dramatic levels inside Melbourne’s landmark residence, the Collins Arch, comes the luxurious ‘Penthouse 3804’.

Located in the centre of Melbourne’s CBD, the penthouse arrives with 371.5sqm of internal living and a further 113.5sqm located on the external terrace. Throughout the 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 4-car garage residence, full-height windows take in the views of Melbourne’s skyline, with the accommodation arranged to maximise the availability of natural light.

With the interiors designed by Woods Bagot, the penthouse sees the use of ambient natural stone, oak flooring underfoot, brushed nickel finishes and custom joinery throughout.

Entering through the lower-level formal entry, complete with private lift, the penthouse extends to a formal living area with the aforementioned north-facing views of Melbourne’s skyline alongside heady swathe of built-in cabinetry and a marble fireplace.

Taking the spiral staircase, which is carved from marbled stone (no-less), sees one arrive at the primary upper-level living.

The residences upper level is split into two distinct pods. Here, the bedrooms encompass the entire eastern wing of level 39. The master suite offers commanding views and direct terrace access alongside further bespoke cabinetry and decadent ensuite. There is a further two bedrooms found here.

Elsewhere, the intelligently zoned living areas features a beautifully appointed kitchen complete with a Cote d’Azure marble used for the splashback and island bench alongside a butler’s pantry.

Marble also adorns the bathrooms throughout the residence while feature lighting is understood to be sourced from local brands, with bathroom feature lights from Articolo and kitchen pendant by Rakumba.

There are perks to being on the top, with the Arch privy to a three-level atrium style rooftop skygarden atop the building – which the penthouse has direct access to.

Further mod-cons within the $1.2 billion build include a 25-metre swimming pool, gym, yoga room, wine cellar, entertaining lounge and terrace (not that you’ll need that), and two private dining or conference rooms.

Located in the heart of the CBD, there is unsurpassable connectivity to the city and its surrounds.

The listing is with Colliers Sam Nathan (+61 4 075 552 922), price guide $7.85m; collinsarch3804.com.au

 

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Housing Finance Approvals Hit New Highs

With low interest rates, decreasing affordability and the heat in the Australian housing market well documented, it should come as no surprise that the value of new loan commitments for housing rose for the second consecutive month.

According to the April 2021 Lending to Households and Business figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the consecutive rise in results comes after a brief fall in February following eight consecutive months of growth according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

“The seasonally adjusted value of new loan commitments for owner occupier housing increased by 4.3 per cent in April and was up 68.2% for the twelve months, setting a new record,” said REIA President, Adrian Kelly.

Further Mr Kelly said the value of new loan commitments, for the purchase of existing dwellings, rose 9.2%.

“Rises in the value of new loan commitments for owner occupier housing were seen in all states and territories except Western Australia, with New South Wales and Victoria having the largest increases of 8.6% and 8.4% respectively,” added Mr Kelly.

On the investment side, April saw an increase for the eleventh consecutive month with “the value of loan commitments for investor housing increasing by 2.1% for the month and 63% for the year.

Mr Kelly said the number of owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments fell for the third consecutive month. The April fall of 1.9 per cent is still 59.6 per cent higher than twelve months earlier. Owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments accounted for 32.9 per cent of all owner occupier commitments excluding refinancing, down from January’s 36.5 per cent when lending for first home buyers was at its highest since May 2009.