Swire launches niche homes concept with exclusive sale
Swire Properties is putting a luxury residential project on The Peak up for sale to coincide with its introduction of a new Swire Homes concept.
Director and general manager Gordon Ongley said the four-house development at No 3 Coombe Road would be the first Swire Homes project to hit the market.
He expected the concept to set a new benchmark for the company's residential developments, with the focus on building distinctive properties in a competitive market.
Swire is inviting offers for the four houses, which measure between 4,374 square feet and 4,436 sq ft and overlook the south side of Hong Kong Island.
Each house has more than 2,000 square feet of garden and terrace space.
Mr Ongley said the asking price of House 3 was HK$68 million, representing an average price of about HK$15,500 per square foot.
The other three houses are subject to offers.
The four houses would together generate total sales proceeds of about HK$300 million, he said.
'The houses are fairly rare. We are confident we will find four happy purchasers,' he said.
Mr Ongley said demand was strong for houses of this quality and the short-term problems in the economy would not deter top-end buyers.
The project is a redevelopment of an old property on the site. The development cost amounted to about HK$140 million.
At the beginning of the redevelopment process, Swire Properties kept open its options to lease or sell the houses.
Mr Ongley said the group decided to sell the houses after an encouraging response by the market to the sale of its Albany apartments in Mid-Levels in the past year.
Buyers were willing to pay the right price for luxury apartments, he said.
Swire had also decided to sell because the returns on residential properties were not particularly good, he said. It made more sense financially to reinvest the proceeds of the sale than to rent the development.
The group's strategy is to treat residential development as a trading portfolio while office and retail properties will be held for long-term investment.
The launch of the Swire Homes concept is in line with the group's shift of focus to smaller-scale niche residential projects rather than mass-market developments.
Mr Ongley said there would be a steady supply of Swire Homes projects, but not in large numbers or involving thousands of units.
Swire Properties hoped the concept would improve design, construction methods, after-sales services, management and even sales and marketing services, he said.
Mr Ongley said Swire's bid to differentiate itself in a competitive market was one of the driving forces behind the concept.
While pricing was a factor, providing better quality properties was important to win buyers, he said.
'People are prepared to pay for something special, something different,' he said.
The second Swire Homes project will be The Orchards, a 442-unit twin-tower development in Quarry Bay. Mr Ongley said the project used extensive pre-cast materials and environmentally friendly construction methods.
It is expected to be released for sale towards the end of summer.
