Background
Three residential sites were auctioned by the Hong Kong government at a value well over the predicted rates, reinforcing the belief that the curbs on property have not had any negative impact on demand and there may have been some expansion of the economy in the first quarter of this year after all.
The Winner
The highlight of the auction was a site on Stubbs Road which was bought by Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited for $578 million (HK$4.49 billion). The original estimate for this sale was put at about HK$4.4 billion.
- There has been a move by the government to put a damper on the real estate prices. But the Stubbs Road sale indicates that this is not seriously impacting the demand for luxury apartments even as prime real estate is getting scarcer by the day in Hong Kong.
- According to a property analyst, Eva Lee, Hong Kong’s economy may have expanded by over 5% in the first quarter of 2011. Real estate dealers are still confident of selling properties at prices above the current rates within a space of two years.
- Housing in Hong Kong is considered to be the most expensive according to a survey by Savills Plc. Home sales however, have reached the lowest over a period of two years.
