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Success stories
From Pokfulam to Yuen Long, new apartment blocks have been selling well this year, a trend that looks likely to continue into 2009. Lucy Davis reports
"Buyer interest was high at the launch of two SHKP developments at the end of November, with 200 units sold at Peak One and 400 sold at La Grove. The success of the launch was due in part to the preferential mortgage and bridging loans on offer"
The year of the rat, 2008, has been a turbulent one for the local property market, and as the year draws to a close, it’s time to note which developments have been holding their own. Ricky Poon, Director of Residential Sales at Colliers, says one of the hottest properties this year has been Bel-Air in Pokfulam, which has excellent sea views as well as eight themed swimming pools designed by Norman Foster.
"There have been a lot of transactions here in the last ten months, particularly as prices have dropped considerably - by around 30 percent to 40 percent,” Poon says, adding that a 900 square-foot property in Bel-Air currently comes in at around HK$11 million.
Poon predicts that Bel-Air will continue to do well in 2009, as peaceful Pokfulam remains one of Hong Kong’s most sought-after locations. The MTR line due to open up at nearby South Horizons in 2014 will add to Bel-Air’s appeal.
Poon also notes that Hong Kong Parkview in Repulse Bay and Regalia Bay in Stanley have done well in 2008, and like Bel-Air, these two complexes have dropped in price recently. A 4,212 square-foot house at Regalia Bay, for example, is now selling for HK$50 million, although similar properties have previously fetched up to HK$70 million.
Despite the slowdown in the market, many new developments have managed to weather the financial storm and attract considerable interest from investors. This includes everything from conveniently located serviced apartments catering to young professionals such as Shama (complexes opened in Fortress Hill and Tsim Sha Tsui over 2008), to spacious, luxuriously appointed properties such as The Beverly Hills and The Dynasty in the New Territories.
Since going on the market this August, 86 percent of the 524 units at Le Bleu Deux in Tung Chung have sold, and as Centaline’s CEO Luke Ng told squarefoot recently, this property is a good value investment, selling at around HK$5,000 per square foot. August was also a good month for hip new serviced apartment block Soho 38 on Shelley Street. Kitted out with the latest in digital technology, this complex sold 70 percent of its 76 units.
Many new apartment complexes sprung up in the New Territories this year, including The Beverly Hills located on a secluded strip of the Tai Po coastline. Here you can buy a 4,046 square-foot house for HK$25 million - half the price of a comparable property on the South-side. In Shatin, several new complexes opened, including The Great Hill, a sumptuous-looking art-deco inspired development singled out for its natural light and high ceilings, where one penthouse recently sold for HK$17,500 per square foot. The Great Hill also has a new neighbour in The Palazzo, another luxuriously appointed complex. Even though it won’t be completed until next June, interest in the property is high, and a 1,290 square-foot unit here fetched over HK$13 million in May.
Also due for completion next year are two Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) developments - luxury residence Peak One, situated on the highest point in Shatin, and mass-housing project La Grove in Yuen Long. Buyer interest was high at the launch of these properties at the end of November, with 200 units sold at Peak One, and 400 sold at La Grove. The success of the launch was due in part to the preferential mortgage and bridging loans on offer.
Over in Kowloon, meanwhile, Celestial Heights in Ho Man Tin has a completion date of mid 2009, and here you can pick up a 2,313 square-foot flat for HK$31 million. Boasting 22 individual houses and five well-appointed blocks, the newly completed Mount Beacon in Kowloon Tong is also doing well. A 1,537 square-foot apartment recently sold for HK$21.3 million here.
The serviced apartment sector has also seen much activity in 2008, with many new properties coming online. In addition to the aforementioned Soho 38 and new Shama residences, CHI Residences unveiled three properties in 2008 in prime locations across the territory, and it will open another in Nathan Road in 2009. CSI Group is also expanding its portfolio, and is set to open another serviced apartment complex in Tsim Sha Tsui early next year, the third property of its kind in a location that’s steps away from Canton and Ashley Road, two of Kowloon’s biggest shopping and entertaining hubs.
In addition, there are many more hotly anticipated apartment complexes coming on the market in 2009, including York Place in Wanchai, a high-rise on Johnston Road where properties were selling for HK$17,000 per square foot in July (they have recently dropped to around HK$16,273,000 per square foot). Also on Hong Kong Island is One Pacific Heights in Sheung Wan, which will offer 150 units from one residential tower. Prices start at HK$9,000 per square foot.
Luxury Kowloon complex The Cullinan - which has been beset by delays - also promises to create a stir when it finally comes on stream during 2009.
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