Category: property
Century Link and La Mer apartment sales break local records
A three-bedroom apartment at Century Link has just sold at a price of HK$19,159 per square foot – a new record high for the Tung Chung secondary home market.
The original owner, who paid HK$8.922 million for the 642 sq foot unit in 2015, sold it for $12.3 million – a 38% gain, according to Benny Fong, assistant regional manager at Midland Realty Tung Chung,.
The apartment was in Block 3A, with about 500 sq feet of balcony and sea views, Economic Times reported.
In another transaction, a two-bedroom apartment in La Mer, the low-rise section of Caribbean Coast, sold earlier this month for HK$6.65 million.
Situated in block 15, its price of HK$11,812 per sq foot of usable area was a record for a low-rise in Tung Chung, according to another Economic Times report.
The original owner had purchased it for HK$4.365 million in November 2013, thus booking a profit of 52% or HK$2.285 million.
Centaline Tung Chung manager Ivan Chan said that the buyers, who have bought the flat for their own use, believe there is a shortage of stock on the local market and that with the opening of the HK-Macau bridge later this year they are confident Tung Chung home prices will go even higher.
Another 1200 Tung Chung HOS flats on sale next week
Apartments at a new Tung Chung public housing complex will go on sale next week.
The new estate, Yu Tai Court, is on the corner of Yu Tung and Chung Yan roads, opposite the North Lantau Hospital.
It contains 1226 flats in two towers, 40 and 28 floors.
The units range in size from 277.7 to 571.6 square feet and the sales prices will range from HK$1.59 million to HK$4.28 million – a 70% discount on the market price, HK01 reports.
Source: Housing Authority
While applications will be open from March 29 to April 11, tenants won’t be moving in for two and a half years. The current estimated completion date is August 2020.
The Housing Authority is also selling another 3200 HOS apartments at Kai Tak and Cheung Sha Wa.
More than 50 luxury homes tipped for Cheung Sha sites
More than 50 luxury homes, with a value of up to HK$1.86 billion, could be built on the Cheung Sha sites due to be auctioned this year.
The three vacant plots, all within 1 km of the San Shek Wan roundabout, are zoned for low-density residential housing.
They have been included in the 2018-19 government land auction, announced last week, and are certain to be snapped up for upscale residential development.
The biggest site, Lot 738, will yield approximately 93,000 sq feet of floor space, equivalent to 30 to 40 bungalows, according to analysis by the Economic Times..
The 2.15 ha site surrounds the Cheung Sha police base on South Lantau Road, abutting Acacia Villas. On current market valuations it is worth anywhere between HK$830 million to HK$1.2 billion yuan.
Nearby is Lot 765, 2,730 sq metres, in a cul de sac on the coastal side of South Lantau Road. An adjacent site sold last year for a record HK$210 million, or $19,667 per sq ft.
It has potential floor space of about 12,000 sq feet, enough for five or six homes. Its estimated value is approximately HK$140 million to HK$210 million.
The third site, Lot 766, is between the YWCA camp and San Shek Wan village.
The 5,770 sq-metre plot has potential floor space of up to 25,000 sq ft, enough to build ten to 12 three-storey houses, worth HK$300-450 million in current prices.
With its ocean views, beach proximity and convenience to Tung Chung and the new Macau bridge, Cheung Sha has become Lantau’s luxury hotspot,
Apart from the well-known Whitesands and Botanica Bay developments, the government has sold three other plots for high-end development in recent years.
Three S. Lantau sites up for sale in govt land auction
Three South Lantau plots, including a two-hectare site in Cheung Sha, have been slated for auction in the government’s annual land sale programme.
The three sites are all zoned for low-density residential use.
They are also all within 1 km of the San Shek Wan roundabout, the closest point on South Lantau to Tung Chung and the HK-Macau bridge, and are almost certain to become high-end residential developments.
The largest site, Lot 738 in DD 332 (above), covers the area surrounding the police base at Upper Cheung Sha, running right up to the Acacia Villa apartments.
The 2.15 ha plot is the fifth biggest of all of the 32 properties in the Lands Department sale programme.
Across South Lantau Road is a 2,730 sq metre plot, Lot 765, just next door to a 2,480 sq metre site that sold for a record HK$210 million last August (the site remains undeveloped).
At nearby San Shek Wan is the third site, Lot 766, just east of the YWCA camp, which is 5,770 sq metres.
All sites are zoned Residential 4, which stipulates a maximum plot ratio of 0.8.
Photo (top): Lot 766, Cheung Sha
Councillor condemns govt over slow progress on Tung Chung West station
District Councillor Bill Tang has condemned the government over the lack of progress in building out the MTR line to Tung Chung West.
He said the government’s 2014 railway strategy had “made a clear commitment” to extend the Tung Chung Line out to western Tung Chung by 2024.
Construction of the new station, which would service Yat Tung, the new Area 39 and forthcoming Tung Chung West projects, was due to start in 2020, Tang pointed out at last week’s Islands District Council meeting.
But so far the MTR Corp and the Transport & Housing Bureau had given no indication of the progress and had not begun any public consultation.
“As I understand it, initial design, research and exploration take 18 to 24 months, followed by public consultation and detailed design,” he said, suggesting the government was at risk of falling behind its target of a 2020 start.
Tang, who represents Yat Tung North on the Islands District Council, said the lack of progress showed the government was “neglecting the livelihood of the people in the district and deserves to be condemned.”
In a written response, the Transport Bureau said it had received a proposal just last month from MTR Corp on possible development the Tung Chung East and West stations. But it could give no further details.
“The actual implementation of the project will depend on the subsequent detailed engineering, environmental and financial research findings, and the latest assessment of passenger demand and the adequacy of resources,” it said.
The government has not set a precise timetable for the Tung Chung West residential development, but has said the first people are likely to move in in the early 2020s.
Preliminary work on the project, which will provide 14,000 apartments near Shek Mun Kap and Lung Tseng Tau, is now underway, the CEDD said in a submission to the District Council in December.
But work on Housing Authority apartments in Tung Chung area 39 , adjacent to the YMCA College, is nearly complete. It will provide 3,800 rental apartments that will hold an estimated population of more than 11,000.
Photo (top): Nearly-completed Housing Authority project at Tung Chung Area 39
1200 subsidised Tung Chung flats to go on sale next month
The Housing Authority will begin selling 1226 new Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) apartments in Tung Chung from the end of March.
The Yu Tai Court apartments, still under construction, will cost on average below HK$7000 per square foot – a 30% discount to the market price, according to HK01.
By comparison, the average sale price of the last ten transactions at Coastal Skyline, Caribbean Coast and Seaview Crescent was HK$8323, figures from squarefoot.com.hk show.
Most of the Yu Tai Court flats are small, with saleable area ranging from 277 square feet to 571 square feet. About 1,000 are below 430 square feet.
The apartments, at the corner of Yu Tung and Chung Yan roads, opposite the North Lantau Hospital, won’t be ready until at least 2020.
They are part of a batch of 4,400 HOS apartments being offered for sale at the end of March.
The other Tung Chung property bubble: parking spaces
More than 30 parking spaces changed hands in Tung Chung this month, driven by the non-residential property boom and the expected impact of the HK-Macau bridge.
New price records were repeatedly set, according to Apple Daily. Caribbean Coast valuations reached a new high four times, rising from HK$1.65 million to HK$1.74 million.
Coastal Skyline and Tung Chung Crescent also changed hands at new highs of HK$1.9 million and HK$1.85 million respectively.
One investor sold a Coastal Skyline apartment for around HK$10 million and has since sunk HK$14 million into eight parking spots, mostlyi in Caribbean Coast, Coastal Skyline, Seaview Crescent and Tung Chung Crescent.
The investor is optimistic that the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will bring demand for parking spots. Additionally, funds are expected to continue flowing to the non-residential property sector because of the stamp duty that now hits owners of existing residential properties.
Based on the current market rate of Tung Chung parking spaces of about $2,300 to $ 3,500, the rate of return on rental for a group of parking spaces ranges from about 1.6% to 2.4%.
Tung Chung property: Coastal Skyline record, 300% Caribbean Coast gain
The owner of a Caribbean Coast apartment has booked a HK$7.02 million gain and a new Coastal Skyline record has been set as local property prices continue their ascent.
According to Centaline Property, the Caribbean Coast owner bought the high-floor apartment in tower 6 for HK$2.34 million in 2003.
The three-bedroom flat, with a usable area of 894 sq ft, sold last week for HK$9.36 million, or HK$10,470 per sq ft usable area.
A Coastal Skyline apartment sold for HK$7.15 million – the highest ever for a two-bedroom unit in the complex.
The mid-floor unit has a usable area of 592 sq ft and a gross floor area of 775 sq ft, resulting in a price of $12,027 per sq ft usable area.
It last changed hands for HK$3.4 million in December 2010, Economic Times reported.
Hong Kong second-hand apartment prices have risen 25% in the past three years as investors have sought to cash in on the expiry of the special stamp duty.
Another Cheung Sha luxury development gets green light
A developer has been given the go-ahead to build six luxury residential blocks at Cheung Sha.
According to the Building Services Dept, each block will be three storeys, with a gross floor area across the projfect of 3322 sq m (35,756 sq ft) and usable area of 1779 sq m (19,149 sq ft).
The developer, New Advance Ltd, a subsidiary of Neutron Property Fund, acquired the 4,212 sq metre site, just behind the Cheung Sha Fire Station, three years ago for HK$290 million.
At that price, the developer will need to sell each building for a total of HK$50 million just to recoup the land acquisition costs alone.
Work on the site and foundations by mainland developer Sino Ocean is already well underway.
When complete the new development will join White Sands, Botanica Bay and a planned project near the San Shek Wan roundabout at the top end of the local property market.
Visionary sale breaks record as Tung Chung prices resume ascent
A Visionary apartment has sold for a record local price as Tung Chung home prices resume their climb following a brief pause.
The Visionary property, a single bedroom, middle floor flat with a garden view, changed hands for $6.8 million this week. With usable area of 591 sq ft, that amounts to a price of $11,506 per sq ft, a new record high for one-bedroom units in Tung Chung, according to Ming Pao.
The original owner acquired it in December 2013 for $4.9 million, booking a profit of 39% over four years.
Across Hong Kong the market cooled slightly in the third quarter because of uncertainty ahead of the CE’s September policy address, but since then prices have continued upward.
A survey by Oriental Daily of 20 major housing estates found 17 posted price rises in the past month.
In Tung Chung, valuations at Caribbean Coast and Seaview Crescent rose 4.4% and 2.5% respectively.
In two transactions at Caribbean Coast this month, a two-bedroom apartment with usable area of 541 sq ft sold for $5.97 million, or $11,035 per sq ft, while a 494 sq ft flat has just sold for $6.13 million, or $12,409 per sq ft.
A Midland Property manager told the paper that the average per sq ft rate in Tung Chung is now around $10,400, with homes now selling at around $6 million.
A low-floor home in Seaview Crescent, which had fallen to $8.75 million in estimated value in Q3, has risen two months in a row. it is now worth around $9,020,000, 2.5% higher than a month ago.
Eight units changed hands at Tung Chung Crescent last month with an average price of $11,032.
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