Wharf’s Stephen Ng has just set a new record for Kowloon’s priciest home site
Another record-breaking plot of residential land sold in Hong Kong, although this time not to a mainland developer. Hong Kong’s Lands Department announced today that local champion The Wharf won a tender for a site in Kowloon Tong, a traditional upscale residential area in Kowloon for HK$12.4 billion ($1.6 billion), representing an average price per buildable floor area of HK$28,600, the highest-ever for a Kowloon project.
The lot at the junction of Lion Rock Tunnel Road and Lung Cheung Road, has a site area of about 121,228 square feet (11,262 square metres) and is approved for construction of a total gross floor area of 436,417 square feet. The new project is expected to be developed as a mid-density luxury housing property of 680 flats, according to media reports.
Hong Kong Heavyweight Outbids 12 Rivals for Kowloon Tong Prize
Only two mainland developers bid for the site at the junction of two major roads
The price per gross floor area of HK$28,600 for Wharf’s latest trophy broke a 2016 record set by Kerry Properties, which purchased a site in Beacon Hill in Kowloon Tong for the equivalent of HK$21,000 per square foot of housing.
Wharf’s offer bested nine other bids from a total of 12 competing developers including Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset Holdings, Henderson Land Development, Kerry Properties, Sun Hung Kai Properties, K Wah International, Hang Lung Properties, China Resources Land, Great Eagle, and a consortium composed of New World Development, China Overseas Land & Investment, Sino Land and Far East Consortium International.
Mainland Buyers Back Away From Hong Kong Residential Projects
The potential luxury home site attracted just two mainland developers — China Resources Land and China Overseas Land, suggesting the days of developers from the north dominating Hong Kong’s residential market might be over — at least for now.
Mainland developers dominated Hong Kong’s market for new residential land for most of 2016 and 2017, including spending over HK$44 billion ($5.6 billion) to purchase all of the residential plots auctioned across the city during the first half of last year.
That trend has shifted in recent months. A residential site in the Wong Chuk Hang area of Hong Kong island sold via public tender in December received just one bid from a mainland contender — China Resources Land. The Shenzhen-based developer was also the sole bidder from north of the border for a residential site in Yuen Long in May last year.
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