Macau property sale to insurer sets record
Hongkong Land, the property arm of Jardine Matheson, and Shun Tak Holdings, controlled by casino operator Stanley Ho Hung-sun, sold a Macau residential block for a record HK$4,400 per square foot, or HK$782 million, to Iceland's largest insurer, Sjova-Almennar Tryggingar.
The previous record was the HK$4,200 per square foot that Cocso (HK) Group fetched for a Macau residential project, said Michael Shih, sales manager at Ricacorp Properties (Macau). The average sale price of luxury flats in the gambling mecca is HK$2,800 to HK$3,000 per square foot, property agents said.
One Central Residences occupies a prime spot in Macau's Nape district next to the Wynn Macau casino. The project consists of seven residential blocks with 800 flats.
The Icelandic insurer is buying all 68 units in Tower Four. The complex is scheduled for completion at the end of 2008 or in early 2009.
Shun Tak will not be able to book the sales until 2009 because of new accounting rules, said Daisy Ho, deputy managing director of Shun Tak.
The firm owns 51 per cent of the project, and Hongkong Land holds the remainder.
The Icelandic firm paid 5 per cent in cash, and will pay another 25 per cent within 12 months. The remaining money comes due on or before 2009.
Property agents expect the buyer will sell the units individually.
The Icelandic insurer has agreed not to sell the units before the end of 2009. The developers plan to start selling One Central Residences within a month.
Robert Wong, executive director of Hongkong Land, said that the developers hope to sell the flats in three or four phases over the next 30 months for between HK$4,000 and HK$5,000 per square foot.
Mr Wong said he expects property prices in Macau will climb at least 50 per cent over the next five years, as the opening of new casinos boosts demand for housing.
Most luxury residential buyers in Macau live overseas, with about 60 per cent of the demand coming from Hong Kong investors, Mr Shih said.
