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Polly Hui

Wedding Card Street residents say government estimates for properties  fall far below those of private surveyors

Disgruntled Wedding Card Street homeowners whose properties are earmarked for demolition have accused the government of ignoring private valuations of their properties, with some discrepancies as high as $3 million.

But the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) says it has taken into account 340 private valuations from homeowners in the famous Wan Chai street and revised 80 offers.

Tom Suen Ching-tong, the owner of an ironworks company who represents residents on the street, also known as Lee Tung Street, said the authority had given flatowners 'false hope' as it rarely took the advice of private surveyors.

'What's the point of asking us to get a second opinion if the authority has never been prepared to consider it?' Mr Suen said.

'Our surveyors and the government's surveyors have the same qualifications. Why does the authority trust one group and ignore the other?' he added.

Mr Suen said the URA had made an offer of $6 million for his 800 square foot property, but a private surveyor estimated it to be worth $9 million.

He said most of the ground-floor homeowners in Wedding Card Street had sought private valuations, with price discrepancies ranging from $500,000 into the millions.

The alleged problem is not restricted to Wedding Card Street. In Sai Ying Pun, Susana Lee Suk-kin's ground-floor shop on Second Street was valued at $1.26 million by the URA - more than $400,000 less than the valuation made by her surveyor.

The authority seeks the advice of seven surveyors before making compensation offers for residential flats which have to be cleared for development projects. Its 'notional' offer is calculated on a flat of a similar size in the same area which is seven years old.

Homeowners can seek a private valuation if they are unhappy with the offer, but it is not binding on the authority. The government reimburses the homeowner for the private valuation after the sale is completed. But disputes over property prices can drag on for years, deterring private surveyors from accepting the work.

Anissa Wan Shuet-chun, who owns a residential flat on Lee Tung Street, said: 'Some surveyors asked us to pay them $3,000 to $5,000 before they begin work, for fear that the authority would not reimburse them if we continue to turn down its compensation offer,' she said.

Bernard Chan Kwok-fai, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors' town planning and development committee, said he had heard 'grumbles' from some surveyors about the problem.

He said some of them avoided taking private jobs at redevelopment sites.

Mr Chan said there should be more communication between government surveyors and those hired by tenants. 'Householders normally just submit their own surveyor's report to the authority. But there should be a mechanism to allow their surveyors to negotiate on behalf of the tenants with their counterparts from the government,' he said.

Stephen Ng Chin-ming, district development director of the authority, said homeowners' surveyors could negotiate with them. 'Although there may be some delay in payments in a few cases, we would normally reimburse the surveyors hired by property owners,' he said.

The price isn't always right

The following cases illustrate how valuations by the URA and private surveyors can vary:

Tom Suen Ching-tong

Owner of ground-floor ironworks shop

Address 50 Lee Tung Street, Wan Chai

Size 800 sq ft

Mr Suen's surveyor's valuation

$9 million

URA valuation

$6 million

Susana Lee Suk-kin

Owner of ground-floor shop

(selling salt fish). Pictured with surveyor Bernard Chan

Address 35 Second Street, Sai Ying Pun

Size about 500 sq ft

Ms Lee's surveyor's valuation $1.7 million

URA offer $1.26 million



Owners attack valuation disparities