Individual investors and big landlords of properties in Tsim Sha Tsui East are unlikely to see the value of their assets catch up with those of the traditional shopping areas in Nathan Road and Canton Road, despite the completion of the new transport systems.
The new railway and proposed public transport interchange will bring more local consumers and tourists to the area, increasing demand for retail space. But property consultants said the enhancement would be constrained by the area's limitations.
'For years, west and east Tsim Sha Tsui seemed to be two distinct areas,' said Landscope Realty managing director Koh Keng-shing. 'With the west side having been turned into one of the most busy shopping districts in Hong Kong, the east side, due to lack of infrastructure backup, has always lagged.'
Shops on the west side of Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, are priced at about $100,000 per square foot but those in Tsim Sha Tsui East are estimated by agents to be priced at $30,000 per square foot.
Office rents in Harbour City, the largest shopping and office centre in west Tsim Sha Tsui, are at least $15 per square foot per month but office rents in other parts of Tsim Sha Tsui are about $10 per square foot, according to agents.
'The new transport link being constructed will integrate the two parts and Tsim Sha Tsui East will definitely benefit from the change,' Mr Koh said. But he said that because all buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui East were completed in the early 1980s, designs and facilities of the properties failed to compete with grade-A buildings in Canton Road.
