New World’s latest property launch sells out as Hong Kong’s homebuyers return in droves amid buoyant sentiments

The developer of The Pavilia Farm Phase III in Tai Wai sold all 331 flats before 8pm, with 27,000 bids received

Unsuccessful buyers today may be able to bid for the next batch of property released at a later date

New World Development has reported another sell-out property launch, as Hong Kong’s real estate investors piled into the city’s biggest weekend sale since November, their confidence boosted by a tapering coronavirus situation in the city.

The developer of The Pavilia Farm Phase III in Tai Wai sold all 331 flats on offer before 8pm for HK$4.37 billion (US$563.4 million) in sales revenue. A record 27,000 registrations of interest were received through

New World’s smartphone application, or 82 bids for every available flat on average. Unsuccessful buyers today may be able to bid for the next batch of property released at a later date.

“The economy is gradually improving, with the gross domestic product rising and unemployment rate falling,” property agent said, adding that the agent expects today’s offerings to “definitely sell out.” “The pandemic is also beginning to be under control. These are beneficial to the overall housing market.”

The brisk transactions at The Pavilia Farm put Hong Kong’s residential property prices on track to set a record and race ahead of the tentative recovery in the city’s economic growth pace. Hong Kong could see more than 2,500 new homes sold and up to 6,000 lived-in homes changing hands this month, Po said. Homes prices could rise 2 per cent this month and break records soon, the agent added.

The Pavilia Farm, a joint project with Hong Kong’s subway operator MTR Corporation, features 3,090 apartments of various sizes. Up to 2,100 units in phases I and II had been sold since October 2020. Phase III, due for completion in June 2023, comprises 892 flats. The units on offer today started at 310 square feet, going up to 1,022 sq ft (95 square metres), priced from HK$6.7 million to HK$24 million.

The average price in today’s sale rose to HK$19,999 per square foot even with up to 20 per cent in discounts, 0.8 per cent higher than Phase II last October and 6 per cent higher than Phase I.

There were 54 bulk purchases, involving buyers who snapped up more than one property each, the biggest deal being one valued at HK$69 million, agents said.

The recent ease in pandemic and anticipation for border reopening are heating market sentiment and adding to buyers’ confidence, another agent said, adding that the robust demand could accommodate a price increase of between 3 and 5 per cent in the upcoming launches.

“The Pavilia Farm [has broken] a 20-year record for subscriptions for the second time,” said New World’s chief executive Adrian Cheng. “The group will develop more patented products to deliver sophistication and convenience to residents, satisfying their need for a higher quality and healthier lifestyle.”

The project is also located with proximity to public transport and amenities such as shopping centres. The lack of new property developments in the neighbourhood, reasonable pricing and robust rental yields are all contributing to The Pavilia Farm’s success, said Po.

(South China Morning Post)

Hong Kong parking spot sells for record US$1.3 million, bolstering Mount Nicholson’s claim as world’s most expensive address

A parking bay in the tiny neighbourhood of Mount Nicholson on The Peak fetched over HK$10 million (US$1.3 million)

The previous world record for a parking bay was also in Hong Kong, when it went for HK$7.6 million in October 2019

A car parking bay at the exclusive Mount Nicholson development on The Peak sold for more than HK$10 million (US$1.3 million), smashing a world record set in 2019, according to a source familiar with the sale.

The developers Wharf (Holdings) and Nan Fung Group sold 29 parking spaces in phase two and three of the luxury project through a closed tender to homeowners last month, with one of the spots selling for over HK$10 million, the source said.

With a standard parking space measuring around 134.5 sq ft (12.5 square metres), the transacted price works out to HK$74,350 per square foot. The previous record was HK$7.6 million, set in October 2019, at The Center, a 73-storey office tower in Central.

“It is definitely the most expensive car parking spot in Hong Kong,” property agent said.

Car-parking space is so expensive in Hong Kong that it has turned into a subsector in itself, for speculators to buy and sell parking bays in rapid succession to make a quick profit. At the height of the speculative fervour, 8,968 slots worth HK$16.64 billion were recorded in 2018, the most since records began in 1996, according to the agency.

The asset class is again witnessing increasing transactions as sentiment improves among property investors, who are taking advantage of the extra stamp duty on non-residential transactions that was eliminated in November. Another property agency said on Wednesday that sales of car parking bays jumped 18 per cent month on month in May.

For flats ranging from 4,200 sq ft to 4,600 sq ft each, costing between HK$400 million and HK$600 million each at Mount Nicholson, the agent said that the owners spending around HK$10 million for a parking spot was not a big deal.

“What concerns them most is that they need space to park their cars and not the money. They have bought it for their own use and not as an investment,” the agent  said.

One owner, who did not want to be named amid concerns for his safety, told the South China Morning Post that he paid more than HK$36 million for four parking bays last month, each costing over HK$9 million. He said the developers’ starting price was HK$8.8 million per spot.

He said each flat owner had the right to buy 1.5 parking spots. As he owned three flats, he said he was able to buy four parking spots, adding that one his neighbours bought six as she owned four flats.

All the transactions for the parking spaces were conducted last month, the source said.

Stewart Leung, chairman of Wheelock Properties, the sales agent of Mount Nicholson, said the prices of the parking spaces were in line with the market.

“We consulted the owners before finalising the estimated value for the parking bays,” he said. He declined to disclose the selling prices.

Mount Nicholson sealed its reputation as the priciest address in Hong Kong, with the most expensive unit in Asia in 2017.

In November 2017, a buyer named Lin Zhong-min paid HK$1.16 billion for two units on the same day, according to Land Registry records. That buyer paid HK$560 million for a 4,242 sq ft four-bedroom unit, about HK$132,000 per square foot, on the 12th floor. On a square-footage basis, it is now the second most expensive residence in Asia. The same buyer also paid HK$600 million, or HK$131,000 per square foot, for a 4,579 sq ft unit on the same floor.

In February, a buyer named Yin Xi paid HK$459.4 million, or HK$136,000 per sq ft for a 3,378 sq ft apartment at CK Asset Holdings’ 21 Borrett Road luxury residential project in Mid-Levels, making it Asia’s most expensive apartment on a square foot basis.

Other flat owners at Mount Nicholson include Alice Ho Chiu-yan, daughter of the late Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, who paid HK$646 million for two adjoining units on the ninth floor. Sabrina Ho Chiu-yeng, her sister, bought two adjoining units on the 10th floor for HK$644.6 million in 2017.

Industry observers said that the supply of parking spaces in exclusive developments such as Mount Nicholson would be limited, as the price of land in Hong Kong’s most exclusive address has surged over the past 10 years because of low supply.

“If there is a demand for parking spaces, owners have to buy it from the developer, and they won’t sell it cheap,” property agent said.

(South China Morning Post)

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