A Mansion in Hong Kong’s Exclusive Peak Neighbourhood Poised to Set a Price Record
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A new mansion in an exclusive Hong Kong neighbourhood known as The Peak is said to have an offer for HK$1.2 billion (US$153 million) from a mainland Chinese buyer. If the deal goes through, the sale will translate to HK$255,000 per square foot, a record for a residential property in Asia.
The mansion, located on Barker Road, the same street as Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s HK$1.5 billion mansion, has 4,700 square feet of living space across four levels and features sweeping views of Victoria Harbour and city skylines, according to Chinese-language daily Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET).
The mansion was built on the site of a Grade II-listed, Spanish-style villa, known as Villa Blanca. The villa was owned by Hong Kong businessman Haking Wong, most famous for his commercial optical products, for nearly two decades from 1978 to 1998.
CSI Properties acquired the villa in 2011 for HK$200 million, and paid another HK$103.2 million four years later to expand the site, according to the public filings.
The developer began marketing the mansion earlier this year. A buyer from mainland China has offered HK$1.2 billion and the deal is expected to close soon, HKET reported, citing market sources.
CSI Properties did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Mansion Global could not independently confirm details about the potential buyer or sale.
READ MORE: The Window Is Closing to Get a Deal as Hong Kong’s Home Market Perks Up
The current unit price record for a residential property in Asia was set in 2021, when an apartment at a development called Mount Nicholson sold for HK$140,800 per square foot, or a total of HK$639.8 million.
Hong Kong, where prime properties on average cost more than HK$34,700 per square foot, was ranked as the world’s second most expensive market following Monaco, according to a recent report by Knight Frank.
Bloomberg was the first global media to report the sale.
This article originally appeared in Mansion Global.
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Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
Philip Lowe’s comments come amid property industry concerns about pressures on mortgage holders and rising rents
2 min
Leaders in Australia’s property industry are calling on the RBA to hit the pause button on further interest rate rises following yesterday’s announcement to raise the cash rate to 4.1 percent.
CEO of the REINSW, Tim McKibbin, said it was time to let the 12 interest rate rises since May last year take effect.
“The REINSW would like to see the RBA hit pause and allow the 12 rate rises to date work their way through the economy. Property prices have rebounded because of supply and demand. I think that will continue with the rate rise,” said Mr McKibbin.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia today released its Housing Affordability Report for the March 2023 quarter which showed that in NSW, the proportion of family income required to meet the average loan repayments has risen to 55 percent, up from 44.5 percent a year ago.
Chief economist at Ray White, Nerida Conisbee, said while this latest increase would probably not push Australia into a recession, it had major implications for the housing market and the needs of ordinary Australians.
“As more countries head into recession, at this point, it does look like the RBA’s “narrow path” will get us through while taming inflation,” she said.
“In the meantime however, it is creating a headache for renters, buyers and new housing supply that is going to take many years to resolve.
“And every interest rate rise is extending that pain.”
In a speech to guests at Morgan Stanley’s Australia Summit released today, Governor Philip Lowe addressed the RBA board’s ‘narrow path’ approach, navigating continued economic growth while pushing inflation from its current level of 6.8 percent down to a more acceptable level of 2 to 3 percent.
“It is still possible to navigate this path and our ambition is to do so,” Mr Lowe said. “But it is a narrow path and likely to be a bumpy one, with risks on both sides.”
However, he said the alternative is persistent high inflation, which would do the national economy more damage in the longer term.
“If inflation stays high for too long, it will become ingrained in people’s expectations and high inflation will then be self-perpetuating,” he said. “As the historical experiences shows, the inevitable result of this would be even higher interest rates and, at some point, a larger increase in unemployment to get rid of the ingrained inflation.
“The Board’s priority is to do what it can to avoid this.”
While acknowledging that another rate rise would adversely affect many households, Mr Lowe said it was unavoidable if inflation was to be tamed.
“It is certainly true that if the Board had not lifted interest rates as it has done, some households would have avoided, for a short period, the financial pressures that come with higher mortgage rates,” he said.
“But this short-term gain would have been at a much higher medium-term cost. If we had not tightened monetary policy, the cost of living would be higher for longer. This would hurt all Australians and the functioning of our economy and would ultimately require even higher interest rates to bring inflation back down.
“So, as difficult as it is, the rise in interest rates is necessary to bring inflation back to target in a reasonable timeframe.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
