MTR Corporation (0066) said it has received nine tenders for its Pak Shing Kok Ventilation Building property development in Tseung Kwan O, with market valuations ranging from HK$1.5 billion to HK$2.3 billion, or about HK$5,000 to HK$8,000 per square foot.

Sino Land (0083), Wheelock Properties, K. Wah International (0173), and K&K Property are said to be among the ones bidding for the project.

The residential development will provide a maximum gross floor area of 27,006 square meters.

It is expected the land premium of the site to be above HK$1.1 billion, equivalent to about HK$3,789 per sq ft, which could become a new record in Tseung Kwan O.

A surveyor said that the overall investment amount is not large and medium-sized developers can afford the premium, adding that the pandemic and the economic downturn might not have much impact on the developers' bid.

Meanwhile, real estate consultancies said rents in the luxury home and office market softened in the first quarter.

The luxury residential leasing market has been very quiet as expats faced yet more disruption to their personal and professional lives due to strict measures imposed by the government to combat Covid, a property agency said in a report.

The overall office vacancy rate climbed slightly to 10.9 percent in the quarter, a new record high over the last decade, with overall rentals down 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, another agency said.

(The Standard)

Developers call for better transport links at Kai Tak

Major developers have urged government planners to come up with revamped ideas to resolve traffic and movement issues at Kai Tak, including looking again at a monorail system.

It takes about 30 minutes to walk from Kai Tak MTR station to the former runway area, so better transport links are needed, especially considering the developments in the area will be ready for occupation within a year or two, interested parties told The Standard's sister newspaper Sing Tao Daily.

Government planners had proposed a monorail system as an environmentally friendly linkage system between Kwun Tong's business and commercial area to Kai Tak back in 2011.

And Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor came up with a multi-faceted scheme in her 2020 policy address that was held to be "more effective and desirable than a standalone infrastructure."

Lam's proposal included new bus and green minibus routes in the area, a moving walkway network linking the former runway area with the Kowloon Bay Action Area and Ngau Tau Kok MTR Station, and establishing a water-taxi service in the area.

All but a couple of developers involved in the area responded by setting set up a concern group backed by a research team with the aim of offering advice to the Lam administration.

The result was the suggestion that authorities should increase the number of bus and minibus routes to help people access Sung Wong Toi Station and other points outside the Kai Tak area in the fastest way possible. It was also suggested water-taxis could become one of the key transport modes.

Real Estate Developers Association executive committee chairman Stewart Leung Chi-kin also told the newspaper that government plans were quite satisfactory when developers bid for the sites in the area, but a sudden U-turn by authorities made some feel as if they had been deceived. Although developers have now put forward a number of proposals, Leung added, their thinking in that going back to the monorail system could be best as it would be a most cost-effective solution.

(The Standard)

Luxury home rents ‘may fall by up to 15 per cent’ as Hong Kong’s strict zero-Covid policy sends expats packing

Luxury home rents may fall by as much as 15 per cent this year as unhappy expats continue to leave in droves, say analysts

The city is approaching ‘peak exodus’, with expats ‘moving either back to their own countries or to Singapore’, property consultancy said

Luxury home rents in Hong Kong may fall by as much as 15 per cent this year as expatriates keen to escape the city’s strict zero-Covid-19 policy continue to leave in droves, said analysts.

In the first quarter of 2022, rents for high-end houses and flats fell between 2.6 per cent and 4 per cent, with those in Kowloon and the New Territories seeing the biggest declines, according to a property consultancy.

The decline could have been far steeper, as many landlords held off from accepting lower offers. But this quarter, depending on how Hong Kong moves forward with its quarantine and travel regulations, is likely to provide a clearer picture of how the luxury market fares for the rest of the year.

“The luxury residential leasing market has been very quiet over the first quarter as expats were faced with yet more disruption to their personal and professional lives after a fifth wave of Covid-19 hit the city and the government responded with a range of exceptionally strict measures,” a report released by a property consultancy on Tuesday night said.

“We believe that March/April will probably see ‘peak exodus’, with expats moving either back to their own countries or to Singapore in a collective loss of patience at anti-pandemic measures.”

Luxury homes are defined as those with a gross floor area of at least 1,500 square feet and average rents of HK$37.5 (US$4.8) per sq ft per month – a total rent of about HK$56,250.

A property agent that mainly caters to expats, said a lot of tenants were leaving before their rental contracts had expired.

“We are seeing a record number of break leases in the market and expect rents to fall by up to 15 per cent,” the agent said. “I think [the market] will continue to soften until it’s easier to be relocated into Hong Kong.”

Recent reports suggest a growing number of expats are fleeing Hong Kong’s tough Covid-19 curbs.

A survey of 260 executives by the European Chamber of Commerce showed that nearly half of businesses were considering moving elsewhere next year.

French bank Societe Generale is temporarily moving about a dozen traders from Hong Kong to Singapore, according to a Bloomberg report last month.

“Most people who have to leave have left … given the timing of school terms among other factors,” another agentsaid.

On Hong Kong Island, rents in upscale neighbourhoods and expat favourites such as Mid-Levels, Pok Fu Lam, The Peak, Happy Valley and Jardine’s Lookout fell between 1.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent in the first three months of the year.

The declines were more pronounced elsewhere, with those in Ho Man Tin, Kowloon Tong, Discovery Bay, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Sai Kung, Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom slumping between 3.4 per cent and 5.3 per cent, according to the consultancy.

The property consultancy is seeing more interest in expensive Hong Kong flats from one source, however: Japanese finance executives.

“More Japanese are looking to find flats in Hong Kong, according to anecdotal evidence from our agents,” the agent said. “[They] are looking for accommodation in Tsim Sha Tsui as their offices are mainly in that area.”

The agent though that they have not yet witnessed the trend, said Japanese professionals coming to Hong Kong may have been given higher housing allowances than usual by their companies.

“We are seeing increased housing packages again as Hong Kong is being viewed as a hardship posting,” the ageny said.

If Hong Kong is unwilling to change its requirement for a seven-day quarantines for all international arrivals, and mandatory isolation at a government facility for all positive Covid-19 cases by the end of the year, “it may be harder to recover,” the agent said.

“I expect more expats to leave if they don’t drop the quarantine and it will also depend on how they handle Covid-19 positive cases at the schools,” the agent said.

“If they quarantine the children and the parents, that will result in a lot of people leaving. A one-week quarantine doesn’t allow business travel, and the fear of testing positive on arrival and being sent to a government quarantine facility does not help business travel either.”

(South China Morning Post)

外資代理行料今年甲廈租金跌5%

受疫情打擊，甲廈市場淪為「重災區」。有外資代理行代理表示，由於企業減省開支，加上預計今年新落成的450萬方呎樓面，原本預期香港的甲級寫字樓市場淨租金將於今年全年微升約1%，受第五波疫情拖累，料下跌5%。

空置率創過去十年新高

此外，今年首季整體寫字樓空置率升至10.9%，創過去十年新高，租金按季降1.3%，整體寫字樓淨吸納量於今年第一季回升，達到15.7萬方呎，主要受惠去年底洽談並於今年第一季完成的租賃個案。

另外，另一本港代理昨日發表的商廈市場報告指出，上月五十大指標甲廈成交量繼續下跌，3月份僅錄得1宗買賣，是自2019年9月以來最低。而上月亦未有錄得逾億元成交，為2020年7月以來首次。該行代理表示，第五波疫情爆發令商廈活動減少，寫字樓市場持續低迷。

另一外資代理行昨日亦發表今年首季香港寫字樓租賃市場報告指出，因營商氣氛受到打擊，甲廈租金持續下滑，今年首季整體市場租金按季下跌2.0%，平均甲廈呎租約55元，較2019年第二季度高位跌27.2%。今年首季空置率達9.8%，涉約620萬方呎樓面，由現時至2025年間，市場供應達1100萬方呎，合共釋出1720萬方呎空置樓面。

(星島日報)

港鐵百勝角九財團入標 分紅比例成奪標關鍵

港鐵將軍澳百勝角通風樓物業項目，於昨日截標，並共接獲9份標書，除了吸引多家本地大型發展商競投，亦有合組財團出擊，項目設有限呎條款，補地價金額約11.01億，每呎約3789元。

港鐵公布，將軍澳百勝角通風樓物業發展項目，共接獲9份標書，包括長實、新地、會德豐地產、信和、嘉華、資本策略及建灝地產；新世界則夥拍招商局置地以合資形式入標競投。

會德豐地產物業發展高級經理何偉錦表示，該項目鄰近港鐵站，交通方便，主力發展中小型單位，認為限呎條款對價格無影響。

建灝地產行政總監林綺華指出，是次以獨資方式入標，認為限呎條款對是次發展影響不大，集團出價會考慮不同因素。

首個限呎項目

有測量師表示，是次入標數目屬預期之內，反映在外圍或加息因素不明朗時，發展商傾向投資港鐵或市建局項目。估計項目實際樓面呎價約呎價6528元，相信以目前市況而言，料會以面積約500至700方呎的中型單位為主，預計落成後每呎可售約2萬元。

料發展中小型單位

另一測量師指，項目入標數量符合市場預期，並以本地發展商為主。將軍澳已發展成熟，每次將軍澳有新項目推售，均成市場焦點，估計項目落成後市值達52至58億，呎價約1.8萬至2萬元，料將主打1至3房戶，面積約300至800呎。

據了解，該項目補地價金額約11.01億，即每方呎補地價約3789元、每方呎補價創將軍澳新高紀錄，同時較同區最貴舊紀錄2020年9月批出的日出康城13期、當時每方呎達3600元，高出約5.3%。此外，發展商須就分紅比例向港鐵提建議，且不設限制，料成決勝負關鍵，並須支付固定金額5000萬。

(星島日報)