Two residential sites open for bidding at Ap Lei Chau and Sai Kung are expected to draw keen interest from developers and could net the government up to HK$2.33 billion, say surveyors.
'The sites are well situated and the one on Ap Lei Chau offers a sea view,' said Midland Surveyors director Alvin Lam Tsz-pun.
'Also, unlike some previous land sales, the government has not imposed any restrictions on flat sizes and numbers. So I believe the lack of restrictions is a key reason why both sites will attract developers.'
Covering 32,830 square feet, the lot on Ap Lei Chau has a maximum gross floor area of 229,811 square feet. It is near the bridge linking the island with Aberdeen and is next to Sham Wan Towers, where second-hand flats are selling at over HK$10,000 per square foot.
The site has a view of the Aberdeen yacht club and the Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter. Surveyors expect it to sell for between HK$1.15 billion and HK$1.84 billion, or HK$5,000 to HK$8,000 per square foot.
Lam, who estimates the site will sell for HK$8,000 per square foot, said 200 to 300 two- to four-bedroom flats could be built on it. He said there had always been strong demand for sites on the Hong Kong side of the island, and it would attract medium-sized to large developers.
Vincent Cheung Kiu-cho, the national director of valuation advisory services at property broker Cushman & Wakefield, also forecast that the site would be sold for HK$8,000 per square foot because of the sea view it offered and its convenient location near the MTR's South Island line, now under construction. Cheung said the winning bidder could sell flats at HK$12,000 or more per square foot.