Update | Luxury home in the Mount Nicholson project sells for well below expectations
House 6 at The Peak is purchased by an unidentified buyer for HK$830 million
A home in the Mount Nicholson luxury residential project on The Peak sold for HK$830 million during the weekend, well below expectations.
Wharf Holdings and Nan Fung Group said the 9,455 square foot House 6 was sold to an unidentified buyer at average HK$87,784 per square foot. The home received five bids when the tender closed on Saturday.
The developers said they are satisfied with the result even as analysts said the sale price was lower than expected and that could reflect investors’ caution toward the market outlook.
House 6 had been expected to become the second billion-dollar sale in the city this month after a company called Golden Sea bought a house at 2 Headland Road, in Stanley, for HK$1.02 billion.
Golden Sea director Nicholas Chu Yuk-yui, who is also chairman of Hong Kong-listed Kingston Financial, bought the three-storey detached house with about 11,937 sq ft of saleable area on a 22,438 sq ft site. The price represents and average HK$85,448 per sq ft of saleable area.
Analysts had expected the house at the brand new Mount Nicholson to be sold between HK$100,000 sq ft and HK$120,000 per sq ft. Mount Nicholson is being developed in three phases and consists of 19 detached houses and 48 apartments. The first phase, which includes 17 detached houses, is expected to be completed and launched in the first half of 2016.
Mainland Chinese billionaire Qian Fenglei is rumoured to be one of the potential buyers. Qian bought a house at 28 Barker Road for HK$690 million last year.
Wheelock Properties, which is marketing the project, declined to identify the buyer. Wheelock is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wheelock & Co , which controls Wharf.
Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties, said the lower-than-expected price tag reflected buyers’ caution about the market outlook.
“The news may prompt some nervous developers to speed up the sales of their luxury homes before the sentiment turns worse,” said Chan.
Cheung Kong Property plans to offer six houses at its La Mansion for tender by the end of this month. La Mansion is in Ping Shan, Yuen Long. It comprises 41 houses ranging from two-room to four-room layouts, with a saleable area from 1,590 sq ft to 1,800 sq ft.
Shun Tak Holdings also plans to launch a luxury housing development, Chung Hom Kok Collection in Stanley.
Other luxury properties to be offered for sale include The Morgan, which is a luxury residential building in Mid-Levels developed by Phoenix Property Investors.
Midland Realty said there were 17 residential units each valued at more than HK$20 million sold in the first 18 days of February, representing a decline of 41.4 per cent compared with the same period in the previous month, and the lowest in about seven years.
