Hong Kong’s nano land site in the New Territories draws interest from small developers
The sale has drawn mainly small developers like Wang On Properties, Chevalier International Holdings and K&K Property
A residential site in Hong Kong’s New Territories, which is equivalent to half the size of a basketball court and the smallest plot offered by a government tender in a decade, has drawn strong response.
The Lands Department said it had received 19 bidders for the lot after the tender closed on Friday. The site is expected to fetch HK$60 million (US$7.69 million) to HK$75 million, or HK$6,500 to HK$8,000 per square foot, according to property consultants.
The sale has mainly drawn bids from small developers such as Wang On Properties, construction firm Chevalier International Holdings and K&K Property, although bigger players like Sino Land and Emperor International Holdings have also thrown their names in the hat.
The lot, in Hong Kong’s Sheung Shui’s San Lok Street, has a site area of about 2,160 sq ft, or less than half of a 4,700 sq ft basketball court.
It is the smallest residential lot on offer since a private firm paid HK$16.5 million in 2008 for a 2,060 sq ft site in Pak Sha Wan in Sai Kung.
With a plot ratio of more than four times, the Sheung Shui site could be developed into a maximum 9,321 sq ft of gross floor area, which will make it the third smallest development since 2009 when completed.
The size of the site and the correspondingly smaller cost of development would attract strong interest from small to mid-size developers, especially those who have been looking for suitable buildings or sites of similar scale for redevelopment, according to property consultant JLL.
Thomas Lam, Knight Frank’s head of valuation and consultancy estimated that the tender value of the site would be HK$60 million, or HK$6,500 per sq ft.
Based on a total investment of about HK$102 million, Lam said it could be developed into a single building of small flats that would sell at HK$14,000 per sq ft, with a retail complex on the ground level.
Another consultant, Alvin Lam, a director at Midland Surveyors, offered a higher valuation of HK$74.6 million, or HK$8,000 per sq ft, for the site because of its proximity to the Sheung Shui station.
Revenue from land sales in Hong Kong from April to November have topped HK$90 billion. But total land revenue that includes land premium income has hit HK$126.6 billion, overtaking the Land Registry’s original forecast of HK$101 billion for this financial year.
