THIS PROFESSOR IS NUTS......

according to professor Eddie we shall all not complain about the crazy Hong Kong housing prices as there are enough options like public housing or HOS scheme - eeehh sorry professor: Where are you living (def not in Kwung Tong public housing estate or Sham Shui Po cage appartment) - and in what world are you living ? Also professor Eddie not every family of four or five wants to live in a 568 sqf appartment with 2 bedrooms and the whole space is like a bigger shoe-box - means around 40 sqm maximum - I really hate these kind of comments from so-called experts.
And then Eddie suggests to better analyze what "proportion of household income is spent on housing". Okay - do the math Mr Eddie - so families earning HKD 20,000 a month spent how much on housing ? I am waiting your analyzing - but it still will not change the fact that even for the cage homes the rents are almost the most expensive ones in whole Hong Kong.
Have a good day Professor Eddie !
Here is the article copied form THE STANDARD today:
HK top of housing tree
Tony Liaw andEllen Wang
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Homes in Hong Kong cost more than 11 times average salaries, making them the least affordable among major global cities.
That makes buying a home here "severely unaffordable," said the 7th Annual International Housing Affordability Survey by US-based Demographia.

Meanwhile, prices are set to soar more than 30 percent in the next two years, UBS warned.

The Demographia survey tracked home prices and household income in 325 urban markets in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Britain and the United States.

The median home price in Hong Kong was HK$2.58 million in the third quarter of 2010 - 11.4 times the median household annual income of HK$225,400. Sydney followed with a multiple of 9.6 and Vancouver with 9.

But local experts dispute the findings. "The survey ignores the fact that there is affordable housing in Hong Kong, like public housing and the Home Ownership Scheme," said Eddie Hui Chi-man, a professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Hui said it would be more fair to compare affordability by analyzing exactly what proportion of household income is spent on housing.

A resident of Vancouver said the survey does not take taxation levels into consideration. "The disposable income is limited by heavy tax in Canada, making houses less affordable than in Hong Kong," said Brian Wong, who moved back to Vancouver from Hong Kong last year.

"The price for my apartment almost doubled to C$560,000 (HK$4.38 million) in the past two years, but salaries have not kept pace," added Wong, who makes C$52,000 a year before tax.

Home prices in Hong Kong soared 20 percent last year, backed by prolonged low interest rates, improving economy and more mainland buyers.

Local home prices, meanwhile, are expected to surge 33 percent in two years while inflation may peak at 7 percent this year, predicts Eric Wong Chun-ya at UBS. Rents will also increase 15 percent over the same period.

One of the major drivers for local home prices, Wong said, is surging inflation due to depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar. Inflation this year may go up to 7 percent, leading to a real interest rate of below minus 6 percent, which will drive demand in the property market and push up prices

State dinner Hu & Obama 19.01.11

+ another 225 people approximately had a nice dinner in THE WHITE HOUSE - please see details here from
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2011/01/menu-state-dinner-in-honor-of-president.html:
quote
Let's Move! State Dinner Style: A "quintessentially American" menu, with a focus on "affordability, sustainability, health, and delicious foods"...
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's State Dinner menu in honor of President Hu Jintao is, as noted here, "quintessentially American." It's a fabulous, artisanal and regional surf n' turf: A lobster appetizer, a steak entree, lovely but hearty vegetable sides (buttermilk fried onions, double-stuffed potatoes!). White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford and Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses created the menu; the Chinese delegation requested the All-American feast, according to the East Wing. They've got it, from sea to shining sea, with foods sourced from the coast of Maine to Washington State.
(Above: In the afternoon before the dinner, a Butler arranges place settings at the Presidents' table in the State Dining Room)

The farmers and vineyards selected as providers all have an interest in "affordability, sustainability, health, and delicious foods," according to the East Wing. That's in keeping with Mrs. Obama's Let's Move! initiative; on Thursday morning, when the stardust of the State Dinner has barely been swept from the White House floors, Mrs. Obama will make a major announcement about food access and affordability, which could profoundly and fundamentally alter the nation's foodscape.

As predicted, Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage from Mrs. Obama's White House Kitchen Garden were used for sauce reductions. The Chef's Garden, in Huron, Ohio, provided the other produce; the 40-year old operation focuses on food access and affordability. The All-American ending: Yosses' Old Fashioned Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. With White House Bee Hive Honey, of course.

State Dinner Menu In Honor of President Hu Jintao
First
D'Anjou Pear with Farmstead Goat Cheese
Fennel, Black Walnuts, and White Balsamic

Second
Poached Maine Lobster
Orange Glaze Carrots and Black Trumpet Mushrooms

Wine: DuMol Chardonnay "Russian River" 2008 (California)

*
Lemon Sorbet
*
Main
Dry Aged Rib Eye with Buttermilk Crisp Onions
Double Stuffed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Wine: Quilceda Creek Cabernet "Columbia Valley" 2005 (Washington State)

Dessert
Old Fashioned Apple Pie
with Vanilla Ice Cream

Wine: Poet's Leap Riesling "Botrytis" 2008 (Washington State)

Other dishes being served: Not listed on the official menu, but being served this evening is a selection of fish from across America, too. Northern shrimp from Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts and smoked rainbow trout from fish raised in Idaho are featured as canapes.

225 guests are expected this evening, and they will be dining in the State Dining Room, the Red Room, and the Blue Room. The Presidents and First Lady will be seated in the State Dining Room. Their remarks will be "beamed into" the Red and Blue rooms via flat screen TV (Above: A table in the Red Room; the TV monitor is visible at right).

*Photos by EGK/ObamaFoodorama
Posted by Eddie Gehman Kohan at 4:25 PM
Labels: China State Dinner
unquote

Sounds extremely delicious ! Let's hope Mr Hu liked it & they did not talk about too many "undelicious" topics during that feast.
Update:
Jacky Chan & Lang Lang and the cello player was also there !

Have a nice & peaceful week

Here are my greetings to all the greedy HK people, property agents & landlords - and all the guys in the government still not understanding the scam. Enjoy the bombing it is for you !
Have a nice week ahead !
P.S.: Not to forget - all the Ho's, Li's & the others ruling the HK society ! Remember the other video below - Cheers !

THE MAGIC SALES OF BLOCK 9 FLOOR 67 APP A + B + C

As I am more and more watching some market activities on the 2nd hand property transactions something very interesting came to my attention. The complex I am living in has 9 blocks (actually is only 8 as number 4 is omitted). This complex is under very heavy speculation since 1 or 2 years.
A 'magic sale' has just happened in Block 9 on 3 flats in the floor 67 appartments A + B + C:
- all 3 of them bought on the same day 07.11.03
- A has 1,015 sqf sold on 10.01.11 for 6.60 Mio (bought for 2.90 Mio)
- B has 1.169 sqf sold on 10.01.11 for 7.60 Mio (bought for 4.16 Mio)
- C has 1,169 sqf sold on 10.01.11 for 7.06 Mio (bought for 4.37 Mio)
Wow ! The guy or maybe better the company who have owned this 3
appartements just made 10 Mio out of the sale for the 3 - as it looks very clearly this is
all same seller / owner.
I can see the slimy grinning agent already when he sees me the next time, telling me: "See the prices are still rising"......................
Okay - maybe I am so wrong - this A B + C flats all have golden toilet & no cockroaches - but they do not have balcony & they are COLD. Anyhow somebody wants to know which complex this is please feel free to ask !

THE BEST JOB EVER OFFERED

From todays CLASSIFIED POST in the SCMP:
quote
We are a delicious employer in the heart of IFC
Shopping Mall looking for high calibre candidates
for the following position
TASTING TECHNICIAN
You need to:
- have a Kindergarten standard or above education
- be willing to accept a 7 day working week
- have fluency in a written and spoken language
- be enthusiastic and hungry
- be able to eat independently as well as in groups
- have basic hand-to-mouth motor neuron skills
- an appreciation of great Italian pizza
- be available from 19 January 2011
- be willing to pay for your own food, and work for free
Interested parties please email your CV to
ifc@pizzaexpress.com.hk
unquote
Is it a joke ? I am afraid if it is a joke nobody understands it as a joke.
Even I am very busy I will file an application to them. Cheers.

IKEA - MADE IN CHINA

TOP QUALITY TABLE - 18 MONTHS OLD. THE STAINLESS STEEL FEET ARE RUSTED - THE TABLE TOP IS SLANTED (NOT SURE IF YOU CAN SEE IT CLEARLY ON THE PHOTO) - CHEERS. I WILL BE VERY CAREFUL NEXT TIME I PURCHASE SOME OF THEIR GOODS !

Cold Weather - Poll here !

It is very cold now in HK. 12 degrees during the day + in the night much colder. The forecast for the next days is similar:
Sat 10 - 16
Sun 12 - 17
Mon 12 - 16
Tue 11 - 14
Now do you still need air-con at this for HK almost freezing temperatures ?
The lift lobbies of some buildings are even colder than outside - I see girls in offices wearing gloves & knitted caps. Idling engines during this degrees to let your aircon run in the car no need - right ? But in HK it is still needed no taxi is
switching of the engine at the taxi stop. This is all a terrible & unhealty waste of energy. There should be a law for public buildings & for running engines, that if the temperature falls below a certain degree then air-con must be shut down.
Please vote yes or no.