Positano is not the most luxurious mainland villa project that has been released for sale in Hong Kong, nor the most expensive. But it has captured the attention of local buyers because of its location - in the Daya Bay district on the South China Sea.
Bordered by Shenzhen's Dapeng Peninsula to the west and Huizhou to the north and east, the district is home to four nuclear reactors, the nearest just a 30-minute drive away.
But Luo Yongsheng, a manager for the Shenzhen-based developer, dismisses suggestions that Hong Kong buyers may be put off because of the nuclear disaster caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March last year. 'I don't think they will be put off by that. It's far from the [nuclear power] stations,' he said. A sales manager, Chen Ting, said: 'We think many Hong Kong people will be interested in our project.'
Positano was first marketed to mainland buyers two years ago, and the developer decided to launch the project in Hong Kong after discovering about 10 per cent of buyers attracted by the mainland launch were from Hong Kong, Chen said.
'In the beginning we had no intention to market the villas in Hong Kong, but when we discovered how big the interest was we decided to launch it here as well,' she said.
The project is being developed in two phases. The first comprises three separate precincts, the first of which was launched on the market at the end of 2010. The first and second precincts will eventually offer a total of 445 townhouses and houses. Chen said 297 had been sold so far at an average price of 8,500 yuan per square metre. The second phase of the project will provide flats only.