Convenience Stores Carp About Link REIT Rents and More Hong Kong Real Estate Headlines

Leading today’s Hong Kong real estate news, one of Hong Kong’s biggest operators of convenience stores is finding it tough to sell enough Kit Kats and Pocky to keep pace with rent increases at shopping centres held by Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, while Henderson Land Development has had little trouble finding willing tenants to occupy its latest commercial project in Central. Meanwhile there’s more strata title office space going on the market in Tsim Sha Tsui, and there is much more in store for you, if you just keep reading.

Convenience Store Circle K Says Link REIT’s Rents Are Too High

Convenience Retail Asia, operator of Circle K stores and cake shop Saint Honore Cake Shop, says the rents in shopping malls owned by Link REIT have surged dramatically. Chief executive of Convenience Retail Richard Yeung Lap-bun said most shopping malls increased their rents by less than 10 percent and several malls even brought rates down.

However, properties held by Link REIT are said to have increased rents by between 20 percent and 30 percent. He said Link REIT will eventually understand the market finds it hard to bear such high rents. Read more>>

Henderson Land’s New Central Mall 80% Occupied

Henderson Land Development’s 24-storey H Queen’s gallery and lifestyle building in Central is already more than 80 percent occupied. Fifty-three percent of tenants are from the arts sector, 27 percent are from food and beverage, and 20 percent are from retail and lifestyle.

The monthly rent for arts tenants was more than HK$100 ($13) per square foot and around HK$140 ($18) per square foot for food and beverage sectors, 10 to 20 percent more than similar buildings in the same district. Read more>>

Two Floors in TST Commercial Building Put on Market for HK$69M

Two floors in Katherine Centre at 53-55 Chatham Road South Tsim Sha Tsui, 6/F and 8/F are being put on the market for HK$69 million ($8.8 million), or HK$12,182 ($1,554) per square foot. Each floor has an area of 2,832 square feet.

The properties are not leased currently, and executives with Midland Realty, which is marketing the space, indicated that the rental yield is expected to be near three percent. Read more>>

Kwun Tong Industrial Building Floor Price Rises 40% In Four Years

A high floor in Block Three of the Camel Paint Building in Kowloon’s Kwun Tong area has been sold for HK$13.3 million ($1.7 million). With the floor measuring 1,968 square feet in area, the transaction works out to HK$6,758 ($862) per square foot.

The current lease for the space at 60 Hoi Yuen Road, which is said to generate a rental yield of 2.5 percent,  expires at year-end, and the buyer is said to be an investment company. The seller purchased the asset in 2013 for HK$9.4 million ($1.2 million). Read more>>

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