受疫情及加息等因素打擊，甲廈市場陰霾密布。有外資代理行昨日發布市場報告，指港島區甲廈於今年7月空置率上升至9.2%，創自2003年「沙士」以來、即過去19年新高水平，區內甲廈平均呎租於上月報74元，按季跌約1.6%，當中柴灣及鰂魚涌甲廈租金按季跌幅分別為3.4%及2.9%。

代理行：沙士以來新高

該行指出，受今年第二季經濟表現遜於預期影響，商貿氛圍持續受壓，加上市場正處供應高峰期，令市場吸納量令人擔憂。於全面放寬邊境限制前，該行預計甲廈業主更願意提供靈活的租賃條款，並進一步調低租金，以應對即將推出市場的新超甲廈供應。直至今年年底，預計港島區甲廈租金由當前水平再進一步下降3%至5%。

料年底租金跌3至5%

至於零售市道方面，該行指出，由於缺乏入境旅遊，本港零售市場仍然脆弱，今年上半年，總零售銷貨額按年下跌2.6%，與2018年同期 (疫情前) 相比下跌超過30%，反映現時與疫情前零售市場表現的顯著變化，受零售市場氣氛疲軟打擊，促使業主拆分物業再出租，並進一步減租。

該行預計零售租金的下行壓力將持續一段時間，由於經濟前景不明朗、加息周期較為進取及股市波動，會進一步壓抑本地消費情緒，並對零售市場帶來相當大的壓力。然而，隨着較短的「3+4」檢疫安排為入境旅遊帶來利好消息，預料未來幾個月零售租賃交易的應該會增加。

(星島日報)

航天城甲廈年底前料租出65% 三幢大廈各有定位 混合式辦公空間最受捧

新世界發展、由K11集團營運的香港國際機場航天城11 SKIES，總投資達約200億，當中的甲廈K11 ATELIER 11 SKIES總樓面約57萬方呎，預計年底前出租率高達65%，該三幢大樓各有定位，吸納不同租客，其中20萬方呎混合式辦公空間最受捧，已全數租出。

K11發言人表示，K11ATELIER11SKIES甲廈，已於7月底落成，三幢大樓定位各有不同，第1座為計畫擴展大灣區業務的企業提供大灣區辦公室，第2座為健康醫療服務，第3座則為財富管理辦公室，項目總樓面約57萬方呎，設標準和開放式辦公室，供租戶靈活選擇，可租用空間由1696至33868方呎不等。

而11 SKIES商場預計明年下半年至2024年初分階段落成，並部署2024年底開放室內娛樂項目。

K11 ATELIER 11 SKIES目前已吸引逾20家國際及跨國企業簽租，包括銀行、保險及醫療行業等，預計年底前出租率達65%，其中14個共20萬方呎的混合式辦公空間已全數租出，揉合零售及辦公用途，適合建立客戶服務中心，且與11 SKIES零售部分無縫連接。

而且項目內各服務行業可互聯互通，加強跨行業合作，構成K11 ATELIER 11 SKIES的內聯生態圈，發揮協同效應。

總樓面約50萬呎

發展商昨日開放3個現樓寫字樓單位參觀，其中2座5樓8室，望港珠澳大橋，2座3樓2室屬於混合式辦公空間，另一個為2座5樓2室，向港鐵博覽館站及亞洲國際博覽館方向。

11 SKIES總樓面達380萬方呎，將為全港最大遊樂零售商業新地標，毗鄰機場及港珠澳大橋，坐享「雙口岸」優勢。

定位醫療財富管理等

該項目設行人天橋，接駁亞洲國際博覽館和機場快綫博覽館站，步程約6分鐘，而11 SKIES更將透過「航天走廊」自動駕駛運輸系統，由一樓接駁港珠澳大橋香港口岸，鄰近的港珠澳大橋香港口岸人工島亦將設兩個自動化停車場，其中「Park and Visit」 提供3000個訪港車位。

(星島日報)

九龍塘律倫街屋地放售 估值2.8億

九龍塘律倫街4號獨立屋連地皮，透過代理行放售，市場估計物業市值約2.8億元，呎價約45,315元。

該物業比鄰律倫街兒童遊樂場，早於1945年前落成，現為1幢兩層高的獨立屋連私人花園，地盤面積約10,298平方呎。根據分區計劃大綱圖，物業現址劃為「住宅 (丙類) 1」用地。若以目前建築發展規劃，地積比率為0.6倍，總樓面約6,179平方呎。該物業將按現時狀況，以交吉形式出售。

(經濟日報)

粉嶺工業區轉型 發展數據物流中心

粉嶺安樂村工業區近年逐步轉型，基金、發展商購入區內工廈及工業地以發展數據中心、物流中心等用途，當中3個數據中心項目預計提供逾40萬平方呎樓面。

鄰近粉嶺聯和墟的安樂村工業區，範圍達351.1萬平方呎，現時屬於「工業」規劃用途。區內由98幢工業大廈，及政府持有的20幅休憩用地、臨時停車場等組成。近年安樂村工業區有3個新趨勢，分別是數據中心、物流中心，以及全幢改裝作為商舖及辦公室用途。

3數據中心增逾40萬呎樓面

以數據中心為例，目前有3個項目合共提供約40.2萬平方呎，當中新加坡豐樹產業於本年初，以約8.1294億元投得的粉嶺安樂門街工業地，每平方呎樓面地價約3,750元計，創下新界北區工業地呎價新高。該幅用地佔地約4.34萬平方呎，以地積比率約5倍發展，最高可建樓面約21.7萬平方呎，將會用作為豐樹產業位於香港的首個數據中心，並計劃出租予終端使用者或數據中心營運商等。

與此同時，佳明 (01271) 近年亦分別斥約1.68億及約1.88億元，購入粉嶺安居街3號及粉嶺安福街7號地皮，兩幅地皮面積分別約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。

除了數據中心外，華潤物流亦先後購入區內的勉勵龍中心、開達工業中心2幢工廈，並將會用作物流中心之用，合共涉及約35.5萬平方呎樓面。

至於以約2.7億元購入區內樂業路5號全幢工廈的房協，則申請全幢改裝成為陳列室、辦公室之用，涉及約4.4萬平方呎樓面，將會作為售樓中心、示範單位等用途。目前房協在新界區分別有粉嶺百和路、洪水橋及古洞北等項目，預計將於未來10年相繼落成，涉逾6,000個公營房屋單位。

值得留意的是，政府去年提出的北部都會區策略，提及配合港深緊密互動圈發展創科經濟的方向，可將粉嶺安樂村工業區由「工業」地帶改劃為「其他指定 (商貿及創科)」地帶，為工業區轉型助力，提供共享工作間鼓勵初創企業進駐。

除了區內用地有機會受惠轉型之外，在北部都會區提出的5條新鐵路之中，由北環綫古洞站向東面延伸，貫穿羅湖南、文錦渡、打鼓嶺、皇后山等新區後將接駁至安樂村作為尾站，而安樂村亦將建無縫行人系統接駁東鐵綫粉嶺站，預計亦會加快該工業區轉型。

(經濟日報)

海迅中心拆售 呎價逾5000

粉嶺區內新式工廈呎價約5,000元，由億京發展的安全街18號海迅中心由去年中開始拆售，最近呎價約5,000元左右。

用家投資者各一半

安全街18號在去年3月開始拆售，項目首輪推出7樓至12樓，合共84個工作室，面積由約1,572至2,040平方呎，售價由約761.9萬元起，每平方呎售價由約4,790元起，首日售出逾30%單位，用家及投資者各佔一半。據代理行資料顯示，最新今年1月成交呎價達逾5,000元，例如中高層一個面積約1,589平方呎單位，售價約868萬元，呎價約5,463元。

至於全幢工廈方面，區內業暢街6號新中國洗衣集團大廈全幢，據指由外資基金以約4.5億元洽購，呎價約4,435元。項目地盤面積約2.2萬平方呎，總面積約10萬平方呎，由新世界創辦人鄭裕彤外孫杜家駒等人持有。

另外「歌神」許冠傑早前亦以495萬元沽出粉嶺業暢街一個工廈單位，較12年前買入價帳面賺約340萬元。涉及業暢街安恒工貿中心低層C室，面積約1,622平方呎，上月以約495萬元沽出，成交呎價約3,052元。

(經濟日報)

11 Skies office towers get down to business

Three newly completed Grade-A office towers at 11 Skies next to the airport are expected to reach a 65 percent leasing rate by the end of this year, said the operator K11, a subsidiary of New World Development (0017).

The towers - K11 Atelier 11 Skies - have attracted more than 20 international and multinational companies, including Bank of China (Hong Kong) (2388), Citibank and FTLife Insurance, K11 said in a statement yesterday.

Among the three towers, 14 mixed-use workspaces, which combine retail and back-office space, with a total area of 200,000 square feet have been rented. These workspaces connect to the 11 Skies retail section, enhancing tenants' brand exposure and facilitating access to customer centers.

The three buildings, with a total gross floor area of about 570,000 sq ft, serve wealth management, wellness and medical services industries, and companies wishing to establish their business at the heart of the Greater Bay Area.

K11 Atelier 11 Skies is phase 1 of 11 Skies with a gross floor area of 3.8 million sq ft, which connects the Hong Kong International Airport and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

The entire project, which consists of commerce, entertainment, retail and dining, is expected to open in phases from this year to 2025.

(The Standard)

Property agency sees 8pc slump

A property agency yesterday said it expects property prices will fall by about 8 percent this year.

It said three key factors will determine future trends: the removal of travel and cross-border restrictions, changes in the pandemic and easing of Covid controls, and whether the government will reduce stamp duties on the property market.

The agency predicts that the number of new and second-hand property transactions in the second half of the year would be 8,500 and 21,700, up by about 78 percent and 6 percent compared with the first half of the year respectively, which would still represent a significant decline year-on-year.

Due to the sharp drop in transactions in the first quarter, it expects to record 13,300 primary transactions for the whole year, down more than 20 percent year-on-year, which will be the lowest since 2013.

(The Standard)

Hongkongers sell lived-in Home Ownership Scheme flats at losses, as rising interest rates weigh on sentiment

Even estates that have seen the priciest HOS flats in recent years have reported losses and prices well below market levels for lived-in homes in August

Wider losses possible, as the home price outlook remains bearish for the coming months, property agent says

Buyers who paid high prices for their government-subsidised flats under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), have resold at losses recently as rising interest rates hurt buying sentiment, according to transaction records.

Even estates that have seen the priciest HOS flats in recent years, such as Charming Garden in western Mong Kok and Fu Keung Court in Yau Yat Chuen, have reported losses and prices well below market levels for lived-in homes in August.

In Charming Garden in western Mong Kok, a 484 sq ft flat sold for HK$4.64 million before premium, according to agents. It was between 18 and 24 per cent cheaper compared to similar flats in the estate. Charming Garden was the first estate to see an HOS flat surpass HK$10 million in price in July 2018.

A 401 sq ft flat at Fu Hong House in Fu Keung Court changed hands for HK$4.95 million at a loss of HK$350,000, or 6.6 per cent, this month, according to a property agency. The flat was bought for HK$5.3 million in early 2018. Hong Kong’s most expensive HOS flat, a 645 sq ft home, was sold in this estate for HK$11 million in May last year.

“For [lived-in] HOS homes that change hands under the current market conditions, if the owner bought at a high level from 2017 to 2019 and now wants to resell, there is a great chance of loss,” an agent said. “Wider losses are also possible, as the home price [outlook] remains bearish in the coming months.”

HOS offers a path to home ownership to those who meet certain income thresholds. Couples with a maximum combined monthly income of HK$66,000 (US$8,410) and assets worth no more than HK$1.85 million are eligible, as are individuals earning half that amount.

HOS flats are sold at a discount to market rates. Public housing tenants can buy either new or used flats under the scheme without paying a premium to the Housing Authority, if they surrender the homes they are renting. Those who do not qualify because their income is too high can buy lived-in HOS flats on the open market, as long as a premium is paid to the government.

A 554 sq ft flat in Kam Kai House at Kam Ying Court in Ma On Shan sold at a loss of HK$780,000 for HK$5 million this month, as overall home prices declined, according to another agency. It was bought for HK$5.78 million in March 2019, when the city’s economy was booming.

The losses came as Hong Kong home prices fell by 1.6 per cent in July, sinking to an almost two-and-a-half-year low, amid rising interest rates and Covid-19 rules that continue to weigh on the city’s economy and the property market. The trend is likely to continue.

Some property owners who would like to emigrate, are eager to cash out and leave Hong Kong even though sentiment in the second-hand market continues to decline, according to the agency.

The number of lived-in HOS transactions, however, declined to a three-month low of just 340 in July, according to Land Registry data. The average price also declined 2.1 per cent to HK$5.05 million.

This number could fall further to about 300 this month, with the average price also softening further, because of cheaper new flats being launched by developers and rising mortgage rates, the first agent said.

Hong Kong has already recorded the lowest number and value of HOS deals in two-and-a-half years in the first half of 2022, because of the fifth wave of the city’s Covid-19 outbreak, the agent added.

In the overall private housing market, the proportion of loss-making deals 6.5 per cent in July, or 105 deals, according to the agency, the highest level in more than 12 years.

The city’s homeowners and potential buyers are braced for higher mortgage rates since the US Federal Reserve embarked on a rapid succession of interest rate hikes in March to tame the fastest inflation in America in four decades.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the de facto central bank, has increased its base rate in lockstep under its linked exchange rate system with the US dollar.

The US central bank has raised its benchmark rate in four consecutive meetings from March, and the market widely expects another increase of 50 to 75 basis points in September.

(South China Morning Post)