外資代理行：0+3可帶動租務 租金全年跌5%

疫情持續下，甲樓空置情況惡化，有外資代理行指，甲廈最新空置樓面再上升至1,190萬平方呎，屬歷史最多，而空置率為14.1%，已逼近歷史最高位僅差0.3個百分點，東九龍空置更高見2成，該行料「0+3」後可帶動租務，惟因新供應多，租金全年仍跌5%，空置率年尾創新高。

據該行最新數字，今年第3季新增180萬平方呎甲廈新供應，同時間吸納情況不算理想，故空置樓面達1,190萬平方呎，創歷史新高，而空置率上升2個百分點至14.1%，而東九龍區空置率更高見2成。

東九龍空置率高見2成

該行代理認為，相信不論檢疫措施0+3及日後可能再放寬至「0+0」，可帶動商務活動，令甲廈租務增加，惟目前空置樓面多，要吸納尚要一段時間，再加上中港通關尚未有時間表，料全年商廈租金跌5%。

該代理指，空置率最高紀錄為2004年，涉14.4%，代理相信按此走勢，今年空置率將創新高，因今明兩年供應多，料明年空置率更升至約15.6%。

投資市場方面，該行另一代理指，第3季因美國加息步伐加快，令大額物業投資市場淡靜，涉及7,700萬元的大額買賣僅錄20宗，宗數按季跌一半。

後市上，代理認為以現時商業借貸成本已達3.6%，投資成本提高，外資基金及本地買家均轉為觀望，相信第4季大手買賣較為淡靜，但該代理認為因物業價格已作調整，故相信仍有財團等趁低吸納的機會。若0+0措施實行，他預計因酒店入住率改善，投資前景相對較佳。

(經濟日報)

橋頭圍商業項目 打造天水圍版apm

在「北部都會區」策略推動之下，洪水橋/廈村新發展區將會興建港深西部鐵路來往前海，預計將帶動比鄰的天水圍商業及住宅發展，而天水圍最新有大型商業項目獲屋宇署批出建築圖則，涉及總樓面逾85萬平方呎，勢成「天水圍版」的觀塘創紀之城5期 apm項目。

「北部都會區」重點發展香港新界北一帶的用地，佔地約3萬公頃。在港深兩地的商業活動交流，政府將會落實於洪水橋/廈村新發展區興建港深西部鐵路連接前海，料位處旁邊的天水圍的商業活動亦將會受惠。

3項目增151萬呎商業樓面

政府早在90年代將天水圍發展為新市鎮，原為大片魚塘的天水圍隨即大變天，並吸引不少發展商在區內「插旗」，發展大型屋苑。雖然該區以住宅發展為主，但區內不乏商業項目，現時該區合共有3個較新或將落成的大型商業及商住項目，共提供約151萬平方呎的商業樓面。

當中較矚目為新地 (00016) 持有的天水圍橋頭圍項目，用地位於洪天路與屏廈路交界，鄰近港鐵天水圍站，項目於今年7月獲屋宇署批出建築圖則，獲准興建1幢28層高 (另設3層地庫) 的商廈，總樓面面積約85.62萬平方呎。

事實上，新地於去年以約19.74億元為上述項目補地價，當時每呎樓面補價約2,305元，料為新界最大宗商業項目補地價個案之一。新地過往曾就地皮申請發展為住宅，惟於2016年向城規會申請改作發展為辦公室、商店及服務行業、食肆等綜合商業用途，當中零售商場樓面佔約50萬平方呎，辦公室則佔約35.6萬平方呎的樓面，並已於2017年獲會方批准相關申請。

嘉湖海逸酒店改裝 減8成住宅

另外，鑑於疫情重創酒店業，長實 (01113) 持有的天水圍嘉湖海逸酒店，今年再度向城規會提交新方案，由重建變成改裝方案，將會改裝為2幢不多於24層高 (另設2層地庫) 的分層住宅，提供約1,102伙。至於現時的酒店地下及1樓，將改作商業用途，現有平台的商業用途 (置富嘉湖第一及二期) 則會保留。改裝後的項目總樓面約116.3萬平方呎，其中住宅總樓面佔約59.9萬平方呎，非住用總樓面約56.4萬平方呎。

長實於2019年已曾就上述項目向城規會申請重建為2幢53層高的綜合商住項目，總樓面逾200萬平方呎，料提供約5,000伙住宅，平均面積約300平方呎。相比之下，住宅伙數大減近8成。

(經濟日報)

更多創紀之城寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：創紀之城寫字樓出租

更多觀塘區甲級寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：觀塘區甲級寫字樓出租

外資代理行：商廈租金按季跌0.4%至3.4%

有外資代理行指出，今年第3季寫字樓租金進一步下跌，跌幅介乎0.4%至3.4%，整體空置率10.2%，涉約650萬方呎，九龍東為4.4%，空置樓面190萬方呎，中環130萬方呎，空置率8.3%，部分地區空置率接近或稍高於09年金融海嘯時水平。

中環呎租跌至102.5元

該行指出，長沙灣、葵涌及荃灣跌幅最小，幅度0.4%，港島南3.4%跌幅最大，中環呎租跌至102.5元，較2019年高位跌33%，整體較高位跌約30%。

中資租賃規模低於2018年水平，較活躍的中資主要是私募基金及資產管理、證券、銀行、房地產及保險行業，偏好核心商務區，以中環為例，中資租戶佔25%，上環高達35%，與此同時，本季陸續出現來自其他行業租賃，包括ESG相關行業、金融科技、加密貨幣及NFT等。

數據顯示，香港租金高於第二位東京，最近部分企業由港遷移新加坡，令新加坡核心甲廈整體租金按季微升0.3%，當地超級甲廈租金升幅更高，達0.9%。

該行代理表示，部分有意搬遷租客，考慮裝修成本及還原費用，部分業主願意提供更長免租期甚至補貼裝修。

(星島日報)

新地上訴觀塘工廈強拍令駁回 伯恩光學持逾97%業權可進行拍賣

由伯恩光學創辦人楊建文併購的觀塘業發工業大廈第一期，今年4月獲土地審裁處頒下強制售賣令，其後持有該廈2個單位的新地提出上訴申請，最新遭土地審裁處拒絕批出上訴許可。該項目為早於1978年落成的15層高工廈，至今樓齡約44年，今年4月曾獲該處批出強拍底價為23.49億，若以強拍底價作計算，每方呎樓面呎價約9788元。若順利統一業權，將與毗鄰工廈合併發展。

是次上訴的業主為Pawling Limited持有8樓C及D室兩個單位，據新地年報顯示，Pawling Limited為新地主要附屬公司之一，並持有該公司100%權益。

上述項目位於「其他指定用途」註明「商貿」地帶，容許作部分「工業」的用途，據判詞顯示，上訴人認為申請地點應視為位處工業地帶，若在「工業」用地申請強拍，必須集齊90%的業權，認為80%強拍門檻並不適用於該座工廈，因此不應批出該強制售賣令。

新地僅持有2單位

據強拍條例，地段上每個單位各佔該地段不可分割份數的10%以上；地段上所有樓宇的樓齡均達50年或以上；及地段並非坐落於工業地帶，而地段上的所有大廈均為樓齡達30年或以上的工業大廈。

「破壞其重建計畫」

根據判詞伯恩光學總裁楊建文口供指，新地刻意破壞其重建計畫。而法庭指，上訴人未能就上訴提供合理觀點，因此拒絕批出上述許可。

業發工業大廈第1期位於開源道77號，鄰近觀塘鱷魚恤中心及創紀之城5期 apm等商廈，該項目為早於1978年落成的15層高工廈，至今樓齡約44年，該項目地盤面積約2萬方呎，土地用途為商貿地帶，若地積比約12倍重建發展，涉及可建總樓面約24萬方呎；今年4月曾獲該處批出強拍令，底價為23.49億，若以強拍底價計算，每方呎樓面呎價約9788元。

獲批建39層高商廈

值得留意的是，楊建文或有關人士早於2017年12月透過強拍途徑以底價約16.216億、統一毗鄰開源道75號業發工業大廈2期。而該兩幢工廈連同毗鄰的年運工業大廈已於去年9月曾向城規會申請合併上述項目並放寬兩成地積比率限制發展，重建為一幢樓高39層的商廈，涉及總樓面約72萬方呎，而城規會於今年5月已批准該申請，規劃許可有效期至2026年5月20日。

強拍底價23.49億

據城規會文件顯示，上址地盤面積約5萬方呎，申請放寬地積比率約20%發展，由12倍增加至14.4倍，重建為1幢樓高39層 (包括各1層的平台花園、防火層及空中花園，另有5層地庫) 的商業大廈，其中地庫1樓至10樓屬零售餐飲用途，樓上則屬於辦公室用途，涉及總樓面約72萬方呎。

另外，該項目亦提供合共311個車位，值得留意的是，項目平面圖顯示於部分樓層預留位置興建行人天橋連接毗鄰的商廈。

(星島日報)

更多鱷魚恤中心寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：鱷魚恤中心寫字樓出租

更多創紀之城寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：創紀之城寫字樓出租

更多觀塘區甲級寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：觀塘區甲級寫字樓出租

Evergrande crisis: creditors seek to drum up demand for Hong Kong trophy headquarters with prospect of rebuilding it bigger

The cost of knocking down and rebuilding the tower in Wan Chai could add HK$3 billion to the HK$7 billion and HK$9 billion for the land estimated by agents

Once a crown jewel of Chinese tycoon Hui Ka-yan’s property empire, China Evergrande Centre was recently taken over by the receivers from Alvarez & Marsal

The Hong Kong headquarters of troubled China Evergrande Group, recently put up for sale by receivers, is hoping to woo buyers with the prospect of building a higher tower on the spot overlooking the iconic Victoria Harbour.

“If the new buyer chooses to rebuild the tower, the new building could stretch 135 metres high from the current 98 metres, or about 33-storeys with more sea-view floors,” property agent said, the sole agent mandated by the receivers of the property.

The cost of knocking down and rebuilding China Evergrande Centre in Wan Chai could add HK$3 billion (US$380 million) to the price range of between HK$7 billion and HK$9 billion for the land estimated by the agents, according to the agent.

That means an estimated investment in the range of HK$10 billion to HK$12 billion, or HK$28,950 to HK$34,740 per square foot.

That is in line with the HK$31,000 per sq ft Henderson Land Development paid for the iconic New Central Harbourfront commercial site 3 last year.

“A possible strategy would be for potential buyers to invest in the plot of land for the long term, rather than focusing on the 3-5 years of yield return of the office tower, which is definitely not very high at this moment due to the interest hikes,” the agent said.

The agency invited bids for the 27-storey China Evergrande Centre on Gloucester Road on September 25. The tender will close at noon on October 31.

“So far we have received some warm reactions from interested parties and we believe that the property could be successfully snapped up,” the agent said.

Once a crown jewel of Chinese tycoon Hui Ka-yan’s property empire, China Evergrande Centre was recently taken over by the receivers Tiffany Wong and Kitty Yeung, directors in Hong Kong at global restructuring and management advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal. They were appointed by creditors in September.

The tower is pledged as collateral for a HK$7.6 billion loan from lenders led by China Citic Bank International, the Hong Kong subsidiary of Chinese state-owned China Citic Bank Corp, Ming Pao, a Chinese-language newspaper, reported in August.

In other words, the sale will not directly offer any relief to Evergrande’s dire liquidity.

“If the final price tag cannot cover the loan, theoretically the creditors can still go after the Chinese developer,” a surveyor said.

“It is not an easy deal, to be honest. The creditors would hope to have a clean exit, with the proceeds to cover the loans at least, but the Hong Kong office market has been hit hard in the souring micro-environment.”

The city’s economy shrank 1.4 per cent in the second quarter of this year, following a 3.9 per cent contraction in the first three-month period.

Average rents in the city’s office space will fall by as much as 5 per cent this year and by another 5 to 10 per cent next year, according to another agency.

The current downturn in Hong Kong’s office property market has been described by the agency as its “longest and deepest”.

China Evergrande Centre, built in 1985, has a gross floor area of about 345,423 sq ft (32,000 square metres). It includes a lobby, shops, office floors each with a typical area area of 12,000 to 14,000 sq ft, plus 55 parking spaces.

Evergrande paid US$1.6 billion, or a then-record HK$36,187 per square foot to acquire the asset then known as Mass Mutual Tower, from developer Chinese Estates Holdings in 2015.

“We will see more such distressed property sales of assets that have not yet entered forced-sale procedures, as their owners choose to cash in with huge discounts to ease their liquidity problems in the near future,” the surveyor predicted.

“Local Hong Kong wealthy investors and families are interested in such assets because they are cheap.”

(South China Morning Post)

For more information of Office for Lease at China Evergrande Centre please visit: Office for Lease at China Evergrande Centre

For more information of Grade A Office for Lease in Wan Chai please visit: Grade A Office for Lease in Wan Chai

Hong Kong developers lobby government to end cooling measures, protect homeowners from negative equity amid price slump

The Real Estate Developers Association is lobbying the government to lift stamp duties imposed as a cooling measure when the market was much hotter

The number of homes valued below their mortgage loan amount remains small, and analysts do not expect a massive increase soon

Hong Kong property developers and agents are lobbying the government to scrap legacy stamp duties to avoid pushing homeowners into negative equity amid slumping home prices, a clarion call that is being dismissed by analysts.

The city’s 1.4 million private property owners could face negative equity – when a home loan exceeds the market value of the property – if home prices fall further, said Stewart Leung, executive committee chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association (Reda), which represents the city’s biggest developers.

If cooling measures are not relaxed, and prices keep declining, banks will ask mortgage holders to repay part of their loans, Leung, who is also chairman of Wheelock Properties, told the Post in a call on Tuesday.

“It will mess up the market,” he said. “Even if home prices do not rise, do not let them fall.”

The government has implemented cooling measures for more than a decade to reduce short-term speculation and lessen non-local and investment demand.

“The government must scrap the cooling measures,” Leung said. “Otherwise, it will affect the 1.4 million households.”

Leung’s call came as a market index compiled by a property agency, has fallen by more than 10 per cent from a market peak in August 2021, returning to its level in February 2019.

Hong Kong home prices could plummet by 30 per cent by the end of 2023 as sharply increasing interest rates continue to pressure affordability and repel investors from the market, according to Goldman Sachs.

Analysts do not expect a rapid increase in the number of owners facing negative equity.

“Based on the current market conditions, I think there is no room to completely remove all the stamp duties currently in place, as we have not seen the residential market drastically collapse,” a property agent said.

Hong Kong saw 55 cases of residential mortgage loans in negative equity in the three months ended June 30, according to Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) data, down from 104 in the three months ended March 31. The aggregate value of these cases stood at HK$300 million (US$38.2 million), versus HK$610 million in the comparative period.

A massive number of cases “should not appear so fast”, a mortgage broker said. “Chances will be greater for those who bought in the last two years. Unless the market falls sharply again, and buyers use high loan-to-value ratios, it should be relatively safe.”

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan underscored the sanguine outlook. Speaking on September 22 after the US Federal Reserve raised its key rate, he said he did not think Hong Kong’s property market slump posed a risk to the city’s financial system.

“I don’t think there would be a risk of sharp adjustment in the property market. But obviously, given the dampened sentiment, you can tell from the recent figures that the transaction volume has come down, and prices [have] been adjusted a little,” he said, according to a transcript posted on the government’s website. “We will continue to monitor the situation, but we don’t believe there will be a risk to the financial system.”

Negative equity peaked at more than 105,000 households in 2003 after the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) sent already struggling home prices spiralling down, according to HKMA figures.

“Many owners would rather change hands at a loss to cash out,” a property agent said. “Quite a few buyers who have entered the market with mortgages at a high loan-to-value ratio in recent years have fallen into a crisis of negative equity.”

For example, Cullinan West in western Kowloon saw a flat change hands at HK$32.5 million recently, for a loss of HK$10.49 million, according to another local agency.

This year’s overall number of property transactions is expected to be around 64,000, the lowest in 32 years, an agent said.

The sluggish transaction volume proves that the property market has entered an “ice age”, and that the cooling measures launched earlier for the hot property market are out of date, the agent said.