Hong Kong-listed developer Sun Hung Kai Properties bought a rare luxury residential site for HK$4.49 billion (S$708 million) in a hotly contested government land auction on Thursday.
The price was at the upper end of market expectations, suggesting the impact of the government’s property tightening measures remains limited due to shortage in the supply of prime land.
The winning bid at the second public land auction for the current fiscal year that started April 1 fell within the HK$3.5 billion and HK$4.52 billion range forecast by six analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. The bid was also 45 per cent higher than the opening bid of HK$3.10 billion.
Hong Kong’s average home prices rose around 24 per cent in 2010, following a 30 per cent jump in 2009, as abundant liquidity and low interest rates helped boost demand. In a bid to rein in soaring property prices, the government pledged to increase land supply in the current fiscal year by making a total of 52 residential sites available for sale.
The site sold on Thursday has an area of 14,700 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 16,800 square metres.
The government sold two other residential sites in Thursday’s auction. A 2,810-square metre site in Kowloon was sold for HK$579 million to China Overseas Land & Investment and a 23,480-square metre plot in Yuen Long, the New Territories, was sold for HK$662 million to Cheung Kong Holdings.
Source : Today – 12 May 2011