Ho Man Tin site tender to mark new benchmark for Hong Kong’s luxury home market

The Hong Kong government received 13 bids for a luxury residential site in Ho Man Tin when the tender closed on Friday, in what analysts said was a “not bad” response.

But they said it was too early to say if it was a good indicator of the market outlook until the winning bid was announced .

In the wake of the lower than expected winning bid for a residential site in Tai Po earlier this month, the market set its eyes on the price of the Ho Man Tin site. Located on Sheung Shing Street in the traditional luxury residential area, it is expected to fetch between HK$5.3 billion and HK$6.5 billion.

“The number of bids does not represent market sentiment,” said Thomas Lam, head of valuation and consultancy at property consultant Knight Frank. “How much they are willing to pay will reflect their projection for the luxury market outlook.”

The 97,700 sq ft site will provide a total floor area of 586,000 sq ft. Total investment cost will amount to more than HK$10 billion.

Lam said he had revised down his forecast by 25 per cent to 30 per cent to HK$9,000 to HK$11,000 per square foot or HK$5.3 billion and HK$6.5 billion after the Tai Po site sale.