In another sign of Hong Kong’s extreme real estate market, buyers paid more than HK$3.5 million each for two Sea Ranch units in a fiercely-contested auction yesterday.

More than 60 people attended the auction, held under a court order after the former owner had accumulated HK$1.07 million in unpaid management fees over 11 years at the remote South Lantau location.

One buyer paid HK$3.55 million, or HK$2963 per square foot, for unit 5A, while another paid HK$3.7 million, or HK$2984 per square foot, for 5B, Economic Times reported.

Bidding for both units was intense, with more than two dozen bids received for each apartment. Bidding for both of the 1240 square-foot units began at HK$2.25 million and stepped up to increments as high as HK$200,000.

One of the buyers was seeking more floor or living space, while the other was seeking a family holiday property, Economic Times said.

The sales are part of a spurt of Sea Ranch transactions this year. Four properties have changed hands in the last ten weeks, compared to a single unit sold in the previous 15 months.  One apartment sold for a record $3252 per square foot last week, yielding a sale price of HK$2.0 million, according to property website GoHome.com.hk.

Shaggy beards and big sunglasses aren’t the only 70s icons making a revival. The Sea Ranch, for years Lantau’s monument to shattered dreams, is making a comeback.

Residents are slowly returning to the site on the tip of Chi Ma Wan and property values are rising.

Like Discovery Bay, The Sea Ranch was built as an upmarket coastal resort accessible only by ferry. It opened in 1979, several years before DB, but was never big enough to sustain itself and after a series of legal disputes among the owners it finally closed in 2002. Continue reading →