It’s in Causeway Bay, but Matheson Street is not as busy as some of its neighbors
The new record for most valuable commercial property in Asia belongs to 12 square metre (130 square foot) shop in Hong Kong’s trendy Causeway Bay shopping district.
The non-descript electronics shop at 77-83 Matheson Street near the popular Times Square shopping centre fetched HK$180 million (US$23.17 million) when it changed hands recently, making the cost RMB 11.76 million per square metre. (US$178,000 per square foot).
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, sources with knowledge of the deal indicated that the buyer is no overly-enthusiastic newcomer. Property agents identfied the chairman of Hong Kong-listed developer CSI Properties Mico Chung Cho-yee as the buyer of the spendy shop, although Mr Chung said that he was only acting on behalf of a friend.
The shop is currently leased to a business selling audiovisual products for HK$180,000 per month, which provides the buyer with a rental yield of approximately 1.5 percent.
The SCMP quote Chung as saying, “Most of the prime investment properties can offer a yield of only 2 per cent. It doesn’t matter how big the shop is. The main thing is the width of the shop front, which is 9 feet.”
Hong Kong Still Most Expensive in Asia
The $23M shop (Photo courtesy of the SCMP).
A study released by JLL in December last year found that Hong Kong’s rates are the most expensive in Asia. And in particular, Causeway Bay, where the Matheson Street shop is located came in at the top end.
JLL found that for retailers setting up new outlets, Hong Kong’s Russell Street (which is a few blocks from the Matheson shop location near Times Square, is the most most expensive spot at US$28,839 per sqm per year, a rate nearly four times that of any other location in Asia Pacific.
Next down the list is Tokyo’s famous Ginza at US$7,340 per sqm per year, and Shanghai’s West Nanjing Road at US$5,366 per sqm per year.
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