The growing net worth of green views

Proximity to green spaces is high on the wish list of Hong Kong homeowners. And they are prepared to pay for the privilege. Joan Gill reports.

Developers are finding that they can earn more money on their apartment blocks by going green, and that doesn’t have to mean by introducing solar panels or installing recycling centres. The answer is much simpler: landscaping.

Flats with sea views have always sold for higher prices, but now green views can add as much as 15 percent to a property’s value. If you can see an attractive garden from your window or even glimpse a stylishly landscaped podium, you are likely to be in the money.

According to Sonia Cheng, Marketing Manager and Negotiator of Sallmanns Residential, “It is becoming more popular for both potential buyers and renters to ask for green views, rather than harbour views. Traditionally, a harbour view was very sought-after, but it seems that these days, people like to get away from the city and enjoy a more tranquil environment.”

In the more upscale developments, landscaping has always been important because people are paying a higher price and therefore expect top quality. Now, even in lower budget complexes, visual access to greenery is being prioritised. Developers (and homeowners) can sell these properties for higher prices because the landscaping is not expected – it is seen as an “added bonus”.

“Many developers have come to realise that a bit of greenery and landscaping has a lot of pulling power,” says Cheng. “Previously, it was the high-end luxury apartments that offered landscaped communal gardens, but now, the complexes with smaller apartments are also offering these amenities.”

As landscaping design becomes more predominant in all developments and the demand for it goes up, it’s likely that the price will even itself out. But for the moment, apartments with green views are commanding higher prices than those without.

This emphasis on the design element of a residential block is a welcome change to most, especially in a town where the process of construction seems to be a formula consisting only of blandness and speed. We can expect to see more of it because the cost of creating and maintaining green space is minimal, especially when compared to the price involved in providing other recreational facilities, for instance swimming pools.

As always, of course, local developers have to work within the constraints of limited space. Here in Hong Kong they are often forced to build up instead of out, begging the question, how can they find room for landscaping? Seeking a solution, the Urban Renewal Authority together with the Sino Group has experimented with “vertical planting”, the process of growing a garden vertically up a wall, on a residential building in Tsuen Wan. Standing 30-metres high and covered in 39,600 plants, the garden helps the environment and is aesthetically pleasing for the residents.

This “experiment”, already common in major cities throughout the world, is a huge success locally, and you can expect to see more and more “green walls” popping up around the city. Developers are right behind the trend as they recognise that by finding room for greenery, they can give properties an immediate makeover.

It’s all very well to have landscape architects come in after the fact and give complexes a (green) facelift once they’ve been built but another proposed solution is to enable them to play a more significant role prior to construction. If landscape architects are involved in the early stages, they can work with the developers to come up with cost-effective and attractive landscaping solutions.

Developers are also beginning to note that landscaping can make all the difference in the case of off-plan purchases, when a client buys a piece of property up to four or five years before it is even built. Here, the buyer is judging the investment on sketches and images, and the visuals are what count, so going green really does sell.

Return to the green living homepage for more articles on eco-friendly construction, renovation, landscaping and decorating. Search too for the latest on green celebrities, fashion and travel destinations.