Pansy Ho Makes Record-Setting HK$900M Purchase of Pad on HK’s Peak

Shun Tak Holdings managing director Pansy Ho was revealed on Thursday to have bought a luxury house at 28 Gough Hill Road on Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak for HK$900 million ($114.69 million), the highest square-foot price in Asia for a house in a development.

Ho, the daughter of Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho, paid over HK$161,000 per square foot for unit number three at 28 Gough Hill Road at the end of last year through an equity purchase, according to media reports citing corporate records. Following the equity transfer, the company which holds the title for the 5,579-square-foot (518.3-square-metre) home now lists a pair of Shun Tak executives as its registered directors.

The holding company had purchased the home, which includes a private swimming pool and a 7,489-square-foot garden, in 2005 for HK$154.3 million.

Gough Hill Road Breaks More Records

28 Gough Hill Road was a German consulate before local billionaire Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group bought the land and established a seven-unit development on the site.

Besides Pansy Ho’s new home, the heiress also owns the similar-sized unit number six in the same development, after spending HK$118.42 million to purchase the home in 2004. Li, the son of super-investor Li Ka-shing has kept unit number one in the development for himself, while his PCCW telecom company owns unit number eight.

The secluded neighbourhood has created many record deals, such as the 9,212-square-foot luxury house at 15 Gough Hill Road, which was acquired by Chen Hongtian, a major stakeholder of Hong Kong-listed China South City Holdings, for HK$2.1 billion in 2016, making it the most expensive house in the world.

Hilltop Homes to Keep Commanding Peak Prices

Speaking to Mingtiandi, Thomas Lam, a senior director with property consultancy Knight Frank said he believes that homes at the Peak and in the city’s Southern District are likely to continue commanding top prices.

“House supply would only remain low as these areas are mostly occupied by the city’s traditional wealthy families and billionaires who wouldn’t be pressured to sell their assets,” Lam said.

According to data released by property agency Centaline on July 17th, The Peak and the Southern District saw only one deal valued over HK$100 million more in the second quarter of 2018 to 12 cases comparing to the previous quarter, but the money involved surged over six times to HK$10.797 billion.