Henderson Land's (0012) New Central Harbourfront development has won approval to build three buildings with a gross floor area of 1.75 million square feet.

The Buildings Department granted approvals to 22 sets of building plans in August, nine of which were for residential/commercial developments, and five for purely commercial use.

The most notable project approved is the commercial property, New Central Harbourfront Site 3 Project in Central, owned by Henderson Land.

The developer secured the site in 2021 with a record price of HK$50.8 billion.

The approved project comprises three commercial buildings, with one building standing at four stories high and the other two at six stories each, resulting in a total gross floor area of about 1.75 million sq ft.

According to a document the developer submitted to the Town Planning Board, the project will be designed with a "bridge" concept, aiming to transform Central's New Harbourfront into a world-class new landmark.

The proposed development includes a 400-meter-long scenic corridor, known as the Grand Boulevard, stretching from Central's inland area to the waterfront.

The first phase is expected to be completed in 2026, while the second phase is anticipated to be finished in 2031.

In the realm of residential development, one of the significant projects is the Urban Renewal Authority's Hong Fook Street/Kai Ming Street redevelopment in To Kwa Wan, which was acquired by CK Assets (1113) for nearly HK$6 billion last year. Site A within this project has been approved for the construction of two 27-story mixed-use buildings, along with three platform levels and one basement level.

The residential area encompasses 237,816 sq ft, while the commercial space covers around 47,573 sq ft.

Meanwhile, a luxury residential site at South Bay Road in Repulse Bay which was acquired by S E A Holdings (0251) and Hon Kwok Land (0160) has received approval for the development of four 4-story standalone houses. The total gross floor area for this project is 19,053 sq ft.

The site was sold in February of last year at an approximate rate of HK$62,352 per square foot, making it the most expensive land sale per sq ft in the history of land transactions, a record that still stands today.

(The Standard)

Some Hong Kong experts predict property slump will ‘bottom out’ and cuts to stamp duties will boost market, but others say reduced charges not enough to increase demand

Policy address cuts to stamp duties will reduce burden on local and non-local residents, Chief Executive John Lee says

Source says ‘middle-of-the-road’ approach adopted to balance property speculation with ‘healthy development’ of housing market

Hong Kong’s sluggish property market will soon bottom out after the government cut stamp duties in the annual policy address, analysts have said.

A special stamp duty, equivalent to 10 per cent of the home price, will be waived for owners reselling their property after two years, reduced from the original three years.

The buyers’ stamp duty that applies to non-permanent residents, and another levy on additional properties, the new residential stamp duty, will also be halved to 7.5 per cent from 15 per cent.

Experts predicted on Wednesday the changes would stimulate demand and increase liquidity, but others took a less optimistic view.

They were speaking after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced the relaxation of a variety of curbs on home sales for the first time in more than a decade in a bid to give the city’s flagging housing market a shot in the arm.

“The government has since 2010 introduced several rounds of demand-side management measures to curb short-term speculation activities and reduce external demand,” Lee said.

“This has been done to ensure the steady development of the property market.

“Nonetheless, over the past year, interest rates have risen significantly, various economies have shown moderated growth, and transactions in the local residential property market have declined, alongside a downward adjustment of property prices.”

The city leader said the policy address changes would help to reduce the financial burden on local and non-local residents.

Eligible overseas talent who become homeowners will no longer be required to pay stamp duty under a suspension arrangement. But they will be charged the associated fees if they do not become permanent residents.

A government source said the adjustments were made after several risk factors were balanced and the increased housing supply over the next few years was factored in.

“We adopted a middle-of-the-road approach to prevent the property market from overheating,” the source said.

“We believe that a revival of property speculation will not happen with a healthy development of the housing market.”

Government statistics showed that property prices in September had dropped by 16 per cent compared with two years ago.

The number of transactions stood at an average of 3,100 a month from July to September this year, less than half of the 6,700 a month logged over the first half of 2021.

The new residential stamp duty showed 2023 transactions, which raked in HK$4.05 billion (US$518 million).

There were 549 buyers’ stamp duty transactions, which raised HK$1.56 billion in revenue in the 2022-23 financial year.

A total of 209 special stamp duty transactions were recorded, which generated HK$130 million for the public purse.

But the insider said it was difficult to estimate the loss of stamp duty as a result of the reduction in property curbs.

The source said the easing of the stamp duties was just one factor that influenced people’s demand for home ownership.

The city logged only 8,792 new home sales this year up to September, and is expected to record about 11,000 deals for the whole of 2023, a major property agency predicted.

The company added the figures were on track to be the second-lowest in almost a decade.

Only 45,050 sales transactions were recorded last year, the lowest in a decade.

The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors said the stamp duty reductions were an important step towards revival of the economy.

The institute added that it hoped the government would carry out another review and make more adjustments soon.

“We believe these measures would help stimulate property investment and transactions in the second-hand property market, while the suspension arrangement would attract talent to relocate to Hong Kong,” it said.

A surveyor predicted the adjustments in stamp duties would bring an end to the market slump.

“Speaking overall, following the relaxations, we expect transaction volume to bottom out in the near term, considering transaction volume is at an all-time low level,” the surveyor said.

The surveyor noted developers had about 20,000 unsold homes and they would target buyers from outside Hong Kong and offer more favourable terms to offload their stocks.

Stanley Ng Wing-fai, a member of the Democratic Party focused on housing policies, said the relaxation on property curbs would not help first-time local homebuyers.

He said the decline in prices was still not enough to make homes affordable to the middle-income sector and that they would not be within reach unless there was a serious slump.

Andy Kwan Cheuk-chiu, director of the ACE Centre for Business and Economic Research, said the new measures would not spark a burst of speculative activity in the market based on the stock market response on Wednesday, with the Hang Seng Index rising 0.55 per cent at 17,085.

“It showed that the new measures failed to boost homebuyers’ confidence and there is no room for any speculation. It indicated that home prices will continue to adjust,” he said.

The Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong said only lifting the curbs entirely would help revive the property market and restore impetus to the economy.

A property agent agreed and added the eased duties were only a minor adjustment and not enough to make a substantial impact on the property market.

“The easing of stamp duties won’t stop property prices from going downward. If the government wants to achieve a desirable result, it needs to remove all the punitive stamp duties.”

But Henderson Land Development and New World Development said the changes could help the development of the property market and attract more overseas talent to live and invest in Hong Kong.

(South China Morning Post)

恒基中環地王批建3幢地標商廈 「橋」作設計概念可建樓面逾174萬呎

中環未來再有全新甲級商廈新供應，最矚目為恒基2021年豪擲508億投得的中環新海濱3號商業地王項目，最新獲屋宇署批建3幢地標商廈，可建總樓面約174.72萬方呎。

屋宇署公布今年8月批出22份建築圖則，包括9項住宅及商住發展、5項商業發展、1項工廠及工業發展，以及7項社區服務發展。最矚目為恒基2021年豪擲508億投得的中環地王項目，地價創全港賣地史紀錄。

項目獲屋宇署批建3座4至6層高商業項目，其中1幢樓高4層、另連4層地庫，其餘2幢樓高6層層、另有3至4層平台及6層地庫，當中1層設有指用作政府、機構或社區設施的樓面 (GIC)，可建總樓面約174.72萬方呎。整個項目將興建一個以「橋」作為整個發展設計概念的綜合項目，為中環新海濱打造世界級地標。

長實土瓜灣項目批建2住宅

亦有多個住宅項目獲批圖則，長實去年以59.96億投得的土瓜灣鴻福街、啟明街及榮光街「四合一」項目，其中A地盤部分，准建2幢27層高、另有3層平台及1層地庫的商住項目，住宅可建總樓面23.78萬方呎，另有4.76萬方呎非住宅樓面。

爪哇控股淺水灣南灣道豪宅地，獲准建4幢4層高洋房，另有1層低層地下樓層，可建樓面約1.9萬方呎。上述地皮於去年2月以逾11.88億批予爪哇控股，每方呎樓面地價約62352元，至今仍是本港賣地史上呎價最貴。其後該公司引入漢國置業共同發展。

另外，8月未有任何私人住宅項目動工，為有紀錄以來第9次錄得「零動工」的月份；同月僅有3個項目涉約97伙住宅落成，按月跌約24%。

(星島日報)

甲廈空置率11.8% 本港代理行：核心區錄微升

商廈空置率仍高企，有本港代理行代理表示，據該行統計，最新9月份港島區整體甲廈空置率錄得約11.8%，對比8月份輕微下調0.14個百分點，中環、金鐘以及灣仔三個核心商業區空置率按月均錄微升，當中金鐘區升幅最大，上升約0.77個百分點，整體空置率按年升高達1.27個百分點。

尖區東九空置率減

九龍區個別發展，尖沙咀及九龍灣區甲廈空置率按月及按年均錄減幅，惟觀塘區最遜色，按月升約2.3個百分點，按年更錄約3.76個百分點升幅，近期啟德及觀塘均有新商廈相繼落成，新增大量未及消化樓面供應。商廈租務亦持續萎縮，資料顯示，截至10月25日，10月份寫字樓共錄約293宗租務，僅達到上月份約8成宗數。

該代理續稱，最新一份《施政報告》出台，當中提及「搶企業、搶人才」等方針，提出引入公司遷冊機制，便利外地公司遷冊來港，同時發展「總部經濟」，吸引外國及內地龍頭企業到港設立總部、分部、科研中心，並着力改善港府治理效率，增設至少10多個官方辦公室，加上落實「資本投資者入境計劃」，投資不少於3000萬 (不包括房地產) 可申請來港，大大增強香港的發展優勢，從而改善目前各區商廈的高企空置率情況，相信金鐘及中環甲廈最先受惠。

(星島日報)

嘉里粉嶺貨倉逾10億獲洽 總樓面28萬呎 可改裝凍倉

全幢工廈最受捧，嘉里旗下粉嶺貨倉，獲華潤物流出價逾10億元洽購，全幢總樓面28萬方呎，平均呎價3928元，物業適合改裝凍倉。

華潤物流繼去年向嘉里連環購入貨倉後，市場消息透露，該集團最新向嘉里洽購旗下的嘉里 (粉嶺) 貨倉，出價逾10億，物業樓高5層，每層面5萬餘方呎，總樓面約28萬方呎，以洽購價計算，平均呎價3571元。該物業位處安樂門街，屬粉嶺傳統工業地段，現時作貨倉用途，物業有改作全幢凍倉的潛力，將會令租金大升。該貨倉於去年曾由基金凱龍瑞等財團洽購，惟最終未有成事。

平均呎價3571元

去年5月，華潤物流亦前後向嘉里購入，旗下嘉里 (沙田) 貨倉及嘉里 (柴灣) 貨倉兩項物業，面積分別約40萬及52萬方呎，分別涉資23.3億及22.9億元，合共涉及46.2億元。

安樂村工業區近年成為財團的目標，不斷作收購，然後改作為數據中心，或者全幢作改裝，其中，佳明目前於區內持有3個項目，合共提供約40.3萬方呎，佳明近年分別斥約1.68億及約1.88億元，購入安居街3號及安福街7號地皮，分別約1.79萬及1.91萬平方呎，將興建2座數據中心，並作租賃用途。

華潤物流出價洽購

新加坡豐樹產業亦於2021年初，以約8.1億元投得安樂門街工業地，每方呎樓面地價約3750元計，創下新界北區工業地呎價新高。

該幅用地佔地約4.34萬方呎，地積比約5倍，最高可建約21.7萬方呎，將成為豐樹產業位於香港的首個數據中心，計劃出租予終端使用者或數據中心營運商等。

另外，房協亦以約2.7億元購入區內樂業路5號全幢工廈，申請全幢改裝成為陳列室及辦公室用途，涉及約4.4萬方呎樓面，將作為售樓中心、示範單位等用途。

(星島日報)