One Jardine's Lookout in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, developed by Emperor International Holdings (0163) launched its first price list offering 50 units, with the cheapest being a 231-square-foot unit priced at HK$4.15 million after discounts.

The project started taking orders yesterday with an average price per sq ft after discounts of around HK$17,904.

The vice-chairman of Emperor Alex Yeung Ching-loong, said the company wants to offer units that have the potential for value-appreciation, and he believes the US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut will boost the local property market.

Located in the upper-income residential area Mid Level's East, the lowest home price of the first batch of the project marked a new low in 13 years in the district, a property agent said.

The first batch includes 18 one-bedroom units, 11 two-bedroom units and 21 three-bedroom flats, with home sizes ranging from 231 to 559 sq ft and prices after discounts between HK$4.15 million and HK$10.72 million.

Yeung stated if the market's response is positive, the developer will actively consider putting more units for sale but does not exclude rental units.

One Jardine's Lookout has 123 units in total, ranging from studio to four-bedroom flat, as well as some special units.

Riding the wave of the interest rate cuts, many developers plan to launch more units.

Upper Central in Mid-levels West also released its first price list yesterday, offering 30 units with prices after discounts ranging from HK$3.99 million to HK$11.81 million. The cheapest flat in the project developed by Yuzhou Group (1628) is a 167-sq-ft studio.

Cullinan Sky Phase 1 in Kai Tak, developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) unveiled six show flats and the developer said the first price list will be released next week.

The agent said that the interest rate cut is a more significant milestone for the property market in the city compared to the removal of curbs in February.

The agent anticipates a 3 percent increase in home prices in the SAR by the end of 2024 and he is optimistic the trend will continue next year.

The agent also expects the number of transactions in the primary market in October to hit the 2,000 mark.

(The Standard)

Luxury brands gear for expansion

Seven luxury brands are planning to collectively double their footprint to more than 30,000 square feet at K11 Musea in Tsim Sha Tsui over the next four years, as the high-end real estate arm New World Development (0017) bets on a rebound in the city's premium retail sector to help ease property-market woes.

Audemars Piguet, Balenciaga, Brunello Cucinelli, Loewe, Saint Laurent and Van Cleef & Arpels will be giving their K11 Musea shops facelifts while Prada is set to unveil its inaugural store at Victoria Dockside.

"We are excited that many leading luxury brands are expanding at K11 Musea, especially in the context of the current Hong Kong retail sector," said Richard Cheung, executive vice president of K11 Group. "This is largely the result of the strong performance and very high sales productivity at their current stores at K11 Musea."

The K11 brand malls have been a key growth driver for New World's investment property sector. In the six months that ended in December, Musea recorded a 41 percent increase in sales from the year before, mainly driven by luxury spending, beauty care, and cultural activities, according to New World's financial report.

The K11 mall's luxury pivot offers one of the first clues to New World's turnaround plans after the developer, which has been grappling with higher debt levels than its peers, issued a warning last month of an expected loss of up to HK$20 billion for the financial year that ended in June.

(The Standard)

Hong Kong’s property market set to revive gradually as rate cuts buoy sentiment, demand

The first rate cut should lure more homebuyers back to showrooms, and prices are appealing after a 25 per cent slump from peak, analysts say

Hong Kong’s downtrodden property market is expected to enjoy a revival in sentiment after the first cut in borrowing costs in nearly five years. It may not prompt a big rush to the showrooms just yet, as lower rates are baked into forecasts, according to industry analysts.

The view follows a decision by the biggest commercial banks to lower their prime lending rates at a measured pace or smaller margins. The decision came after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) cut its base rate to 5.25 per cent from 5.75 per cent, in lockstep with the Federal Reserve’s first policy-easing measure since 2020.

“There is still insufficient purchasing power in the market” given the cumulative increase in mortgage rates over the past few years, a property agent said. “Property prices will remain under pressure in the short term, especially in the second-hand property market. Prime rates will fall more slowly.”

HSBC will lower its prime rate by a quarter-point to 5.625 per cent from Friday while Bank of China (Hong Kong) will reduce its benchmark to the same level from September 23. Standard Chartered and Bank of East Asia will pare their prime rates to 5.875 per cent. The lenders had raised their lending rates by a total of 87.5 basis points in this cycle.

The one-month Hong Kong interbank offered rate or Hibor, a benchmark for mortgage loans, fell to a 16-month low of 3.614 per cent on Thursday after the HKMA policy move. The rate reached as high as 5.659 per cent in November last year from 3.141 per cent in March 2022 when the Fed began its tightening move.

A 466-sq ft, two-bedroom flat in Mei Foo was sold for HK$5.09 million on Thursday, marking the first deal in the market since rate-cut announcements, according to a local property agency. It was transacted at 7.5 per cent below the asking price. The owner paid HK$5.8 million for it in 2021.

Many buyers have already returned to the market, as evidenced by higher transaction volume in recent months as prices began to look appealing. Hong Kong’s home prices have declined by 25 per cent since the market peaked in September 2021, according to government data.

The Fed decision signifies the start of the rate reduction cycle, and “this will support the property market and boost transactions,” said Ricky Wong, managing director of Wheelock Properties. The developer is preparing to sell more flats in Kai Tak, Wan Chai and The Peak next quarter, he added.

Many prospective buyers are taking steps to view properties. A total of 1,050 appointments were booked last weekend involving 50 major housing estates, according to another property agency. The appointments have been increasing for eight consecutive weeks, reaching the highest over 19 weekends.

A total of 61 transactions were recorded last week, or 3 per cent lower than the preceding week as some buyers wanted to grasp the chance before this week’s expected rate cut, the agency said. The lower prime rates will save borrowers HK$795 per month, based on a HK$6 million flat and a 30-year loan at prime minus 1.75 per cent.

“Recently, the number of buyers re-entering the market has started to increase, and developers have also indicated they will speed up the pace of launching new flats for sale in the near future,” a mortgage broker said.

Nonetheless, lived-in home prices in Hong Kong have continued to fall, dragging the official benchmark to its lowest level in nearly eight years in July, according to the Rating and Valuation Department. Prices have weakened by 7.4 per cent this year, and losses may be limited from here, UBS said.

“We forecast prices to decline by around 5 per cent in 2024, implying that the price decline will stabilise by the end of this year,” said Mark Leung, Greater China property analyst at the Swiss investment bank. “Prices are [also] expected to stabilise in 2025. Transactions should increase.”

Hong Kong’s property market in 2025 is likely to be more opportunistic than this year, an agent said. But as the new residential supply is still high, “there are no conditions for a significant recovery in prices” just yet, the agent added.

(South China Morning Post)

金融機構擴充 九龍甲廈租務增

近期甲廈租務成交，主要於九龍區出現，先後錄中資及外資金融機構租樓面進行擴充。

據一間外資代理行每月寫字樓租金統計，7月寫字樓市場的氣氛仍然疲弱。港島甲級寫字樓的平均租金下跌至每平方呎62.8元，年初至今已下跌2.6%。由於寫字樓租賃需求疲弱，空置率達13.5%的新高。該行指，儘管外資律師行縮減規模及金融業表現不佳，但對新建甲級寫字樓的需求有所增加，因租戶對高質素寫字樓的追求持續和受低租金所吸引。

九龍區方面，該行指7月租務開始回升。雖然九龍區的寫字樓平均交易面積仍少於3,000平方呎，但新租賃成交宗數按月增加超過20%。在九龍多個區域中，九龍東仍然是租戶的主要焦點，而九龍西的項目亦偶有部分租客表示有興趣租用。

遠東宏信 租環球貿易廣場 (ICC) 69樓全層

市場租務成交上，包括九龍站環球貿易廣場錄得全層租務，涉及物業69樓全層，面積約3.5萬平方呎，以每呎約70元租出。由於屬物業高層，故享有優質景觀。消息稱，新租客為內地金融機構遠東宏信，業務涉及金融、貿易、諮詢、投資等，總部設於上海。該集團早前租用環球貿易廣場極高層2個單位，分別為66樓約8,000平方呎，以及67樓約1萬平方呎單位，合共約1.8萬平方呎，當中67樓單位屬集團總部，於去年初啟用。由於集團業務擴張，現決定放棄66樓單位，而轉租69樓全層，換言之合共使用約4.5萬平方呎，比原有樓面增加1.5倍，可見集團長綫看好在港發展。

另外，尖沙咀北京道一號中高層全層，面積約1.2萬平方呎，以每平方呎約70元租出。由於該廈享優質全海景，並有半零售成分，向來租務亦理想，租金水平屬同區偏高。據了解，該層樓面原由一家美容集團租用3層，其後續租樓面降至1層，另外兩層交由業主重新招租。據悉，新租客為渣打銀行，料作財富管理業務之用，屬擴充性質。

友邦保險 港威大廈擴充

另同區海港城港威大廈錄全層租務，涉及5座38樓全層，面積約2.4萬平方呎，以每平方呎約55元租出。據了解，新租客為友邦保險，集團於該廈已租用多層，涉及逾20萬平方呎，如今再進行擴充。

該代理行稱，一直以來，九龍區租賃需求主要來自政府機構和內地企業，但現在的租賃需求擴展到不同行業，包括保險業。企業業務擴充和追求高質素的寫字樓空間，推動九龍區甲級寫字樓市場的復甦。整體而言，下半年九龍區寫字樓有穩定的跡象。

(經濟日報)

更多環球貿易廣場寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：環球貿易廣場寫字樓出租

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更多尖沙咀區甲級寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：尖沙咀區甲級寫字樓出租

觀塘駱駝漆中心全幢4.1億易手

曾由鄧成波家族持有，上月淪為銀主盤的觀塘駱駝漆中心全幢，剛以約4.1億易手，平均呎價4816元，較10年前購入價貶值逾60%。

物業屬銀主盤

觀塘興業街1號駱駝漆中心，為一座樓高7層銀座式商廈，建築面積共約85116方呎，項目由鄧成波家族於2014年以10.8億購入，並於2017年市況熾熱時放售，當時意向價高達28.8億，惟並沒有成功沽售。

隨後多年來不斷推出放售，在2022年3月叫價約13億至14億，去年4月叫價調整至11.2億，於今年初再次下調叫價至11億，累積減幅可觀。

不過，項目於上月被銀主接管，當時代理表示市場估值約10億，現時大幅減價易手，以項目總樓面計算，平均每呎4816元。

曾由鄧成波家族持有

市場消息透露，鄧氏家族曾打算拆售物業，並沒有着意為該全幢招租，目前只有地舖有一名租客，其餘皆交吉，新買家須花一番心思招租，估計寫字樓市值呎租20至30元，舖位市值呎租逾50元，以易手價計算，料回報6厘至7厘。他續說，該項目適宜重新定位及包裝。

該廈地下及1樓為餐廳，2樓至6樓為寫字樓，每層面積約11536至13168方呎，屬三面大單邊位置，門面闊約217呎，該廈已獲地政處批出不反對通知書及屋宇署批准改建為零售用途，部分位置可設戶外餐飲區，可改建為蘇豪區集中地。

2014年成交價10.8億

有代理表示，觀塘海濱道135號宏基資本大廈低層全層連4個私家車位，建築面積約12,029方呎，現時意向價約9022萬，每呎叫價約7500元，以交吉形式出售，上述全層望郵輪碼頭景，附設寫字樓裝修，宏基資本大廈為區內指標甲廈，距離港鐵牛頭角站僅約5至7分鐘步程。

(星島日報)

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中環全幢商廈獲洽 用家投資垂青

商廈價格高位急跌後，氣氛趨活躍，中環皇后大道中152號全幢寫字樓皇后大道中心獲洽，有望短期內以14億易手。

皇后大道中152號全幢甲廈皇后大道中心，佔地約4030方呎，總面積約80876方呎，市場消息指，由於項目規模適中，推售以來獲用家及投資者問盤，反應不俗，有望短期內以14億易手，平均呎價17310元，項目接近中環中心，惟較中環中心近期成交呎價2.8萬低逾30%。

總樓面80876呎

該廈每層面積2531至3733方呎，一梯一伙，層與層之間高度約3.25至6.6米，地下至15樓為舖契，可作餐飲或零售用途，17樓至30樓為寫字樓，大廈擁有雙門面設計，分別面向皇后大道中及威靈頓街。

據悉，準買家看中屬新式商廈，3樓擁有空中花園及平台，29至30樓特色樓層設有露台，這是舊式商廈欠缺的。項目曾由財團收購近10多年，在整合業權後重建，連同收購及建築成本，投資額估計近10億，於2020年落成。

灣仔鴻翔延遲截標

灣仔皇后大道東83號鴻翔中心1至26樓連天台，佔全幢商廈約94％業權，早前推出標售，有代理行昨日表示，因反應熱烈，現順應一眾潛在買家要求，截標日期將由10月9日，順延至2024年10月18日。而該項目出售部分的批則面積約34585方呎。

(星島日報)

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