Latest news with #HongKongRealEstate
South China Morning Post
29-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Ex-Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa's sister buys US$15 million flat at discount
The sister of former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa bought a HK$119 million (US$15.2 million) flat in the Mid-Levels neighbourhood, joining a cohort of wealthy investors who have been taking advantage of depressed prices to snap up luxury homes A 3,349 sq ft, four-bedroom unit in Grenville House, located at 3 Magazine Gap Road in Mid-Levels, was sold on Tuesday, according to Land Registry records. Shirley Shiao Ping Peng and William Peng Shih-Hsiao appear to be the directors of the acquiring firm, Noble Gather, according to the Companies Registry. Shirley Peng is the sister of Tung and the widow of Peng Yin-kang, chairman of Chinese Maritime Transport. William Peng, their son, is now chairman. The sale was around 8.5 per cent cheaper than a previous Grenville House deal. A flat on a lower level, but with the same floor area, sold for HK$130 million in December, according to a transaction record from Centaline. And it was 26 per cent cheaper than the HK$160 million paid by Tung for another unit in 2021, according to reports in local media.
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong homebuyers flock to latest Sierra Sea units as mortgage rates ease
Emboldened by lower mortgage rates, Hong Kong homebuyers on Saturday purchased all 216 of the new units offered at Sun Hung Kai Properties ' Sierra Sea project in Sai Sha in the New Territories. All units found buyers within six hours of the sale, which began at 10am, according to agents. Another 25 units were available via tender. Earlier this week, the one-month Hong Kong interbank offered rate (Hibor), which is linked to mortgage loans, fell below 1 per cent for the first time since July 2022. On Friday, the one-month Hibor settled at 0.58964, according to the Hong Kong Association of Banks. 'Benefiting from a decline in the one-month Hibor, mortgage burdens have eased,' said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. The lower Hibor was attributed to higher liquidity entering the city's capital markets as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority began intervening in the currency market. Hong Kong pegged its dollar to the American currency in 1983, and in 2005 it instituted a trading band of HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar. The HKMA intervenes in the open market when the local currency is expected to trade beyond its band.
South China Morning Post
14-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Homes market in need of more competition
The recent property downturn has paradoxically increased the market dominance of Hong Kong's three biggest developers. An estimated 60 per cent of new residential units this year and next will be delivered by Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), CK Asset Holdings and Henderson Land, up from 40 per cent in the past two years. Meanwhile, mainland developers and smaller local players have steered clear of bidding for residential plots in the city during the downturn. Such market concentration is concerning and exposes too many of the city's housing needs to a few leading market players. Given the interest rate volatility and unpredictable global trade frictions creating an unstable macroeconomic environment, developers and buyers are both more comfortable investing in and buying smaller and more affordable units. New homes measuring up to 431 sq ft accounted for more than 60 per cent of all residential transactions in the past few months, up from nearly 50 per cent in 2024. A reduced stamp duty from February also helped generate greater buyer interest – a flat rate of HK$100 for homes worth up to HK$4 million, from the previous threshold of HK$3 million. All three big developers have extensive land banks and may more easily choose strategic locations to adjust to changing market conditions. The trend is to focus on small to medium-sized flats. For example, SHKP's Sierra Sea, a 9,700-unit project near Ma On Shan, has briskly sold more than 700 flats – ranging from 301 sq ft to 702 sq ft – in three rounds since April. Priced up to 20 per cent below the cost of existing nearby homes, it is one of Hong Kong's largest new residential estates since 1999.
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's April property deals jump to 5-month high as buyers dived in on stamp duty cut
Hong Kong's property transactions surged to a five-month high in April, as a cut in the government's stamp duty spurred more buyers to dive into the market and helped developers like Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) to report brisk sales. Advertisement The value of real estate sales rose 9.8 per cent last month to HK$50.1 billion (US$6.46 billion) involving 7,229 new homes, lived-in abodes, offices, shops, car parking slots and industrial spaces, according to the Land Registry. The number of deals, which grew 8.5 per cent from March, was the highest since November 2024, when 7,689 deals valued at HK$64.1 billion were done, the data showed. The strong data 'primarily reflected the actual market conditions from late March to early April, [when] purchasing power in the secondary residential market was boosted by the reduction of stamp duty to HK$100 for properties priced under HK$4 million', said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. Residential property buyers turned up in droves last month, helping developers and owners sell 5,694 homes, for the highest monthly tally since November's 6,298 units, the data showed. SHKP was one such developer, selling every flat of the 318 units it released on April 26 at Sierra Sea in the New Territories. The project comprises 9,700 homes, making it Hong Kong's single largest property project in about three decades. People at a shopping centre in Kai Tak with the public housing estate in the background on April 24, 2025. Photo: Jelly Tse Discounts helped attract buyers. The first batch of Sierra Sea was offered at an average price of HK$10,877 per square foot after discounts, about 20 per cent cheaper than lived-in homes in the same neighbourhood, according to Midland Realty.
