A buyer in Hong Kong recently purchased two adjacent apartments in the gated community of Mt. Nicolson for a total of $148.5M. The smaller unit of 4,242 square feet sold for $72M ($16,898/square foot); the larger unit of 4,579 square feet sold for $78M ($16,771/square foot). This packaged sale set a sales price record in Asia.
In New York, the highest sale price for an apartment at One 57, often called “Billionaire’s Row,” sold in 2015 for $100.5M (($9,998/square foot). Compared to Hong Kong square footage costs, New York almost looks like a bargain, right?
This Mt. Nicolson development sited at The Peak, Hong Kong’s most prestigious address overlooking world famous Victoria Harbor, consists of 19 single-family homes and 48 apartments within 4 distinct towers. Many of these units have sold…two single-family homes sold individually for more than $128M each. Its international creative team included Robert A. Stern, architect, Yabu Pushelberg Chanpalimaud, architect, and the David Collins Studio.
Hong Kong has long been ranked Asia’s, if not the world’s most expensive property market but what is driving this soaring price surge? Denis Ma, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) headquartered in Hong Kong, tells us, “The record prices being paid reflect the strong demand and limited supply of ‘super’ luxury properties available on the market, which currently accounts for just 2% of the city’s housing stock.”
Hong Kong’s already eye-popping billionaire population is growing. According to UBS Wealth Management and Price Waterhouse Coopers, the Asian continent added one new billionaire every other day, primarily in China and India, during 2017. 647 of those billionaires reside in Mainland China and 66 of them live in Hong Kong, according to Hurun’s most recent study, “The Richest People in China.”
Given the scarcity of luxury properties in prime locations that help generate record sale prices in Hong Kong, the high-end market is likely to strengthen into 2018. Thomas Lam, senior director and head of valuation and consultancy at Knight Frank Hong Kong, said, “…the super luxury market is likely…to outpace the mass market in 2018…as luxury buyers typically have strong purchasing power.”
