Sea view properties in Hong Kong are getting more expensive as affluent families flee protests and coronavirus for Sai Kung, Southside and Lantau

When it comes to winding down, business owner Maura Thompson has one antidote to stress she can rely on at the end of every pressure-packed day – the sweeping sea view from her Pok Fu Lam apartment.

The former New Yorker had always considered herself to be a “big city, skyscraper kind of girl”, so Mid-Levels was a natural choice for her first residence in Hong Kong. When she later set her eyes on the “calming, relaxing” sea views on offer elsewhere, Thompson was hooked. Now the first thing she sees every morning, and the last thing each night, works wonders for this busy professional and mother of two, which she never tires of gazing at. “When I look at the view it's a reminder to calm down, be more present, and relax,” she says.

The 5 most expensive – and prestigious – places to live in Hong Kong

Scientists and psychologists have long made a connection between sea views and stress relief, and with so much going on in Hong Kong right now, property agents say more residents are seeking the solace of the sea. For anyone considering making a sea-change, here are five districts worth considering:

Sai Kung

Average price: HK$8,000-HK$12,000 (US$1,032-US$1,550) per sq ft; villa HK$18,000-HK$22,000 per sq ft for second-hand, or for HK$30,000 new build.

Average monthly rental: village house HK$23,000; villa HK$40,000.

Since the coronavirus, Marco Ma Yu-fan, senior director at Eastmount Property Agents, has been fielding more inquiries than ever for this pretty coastal stretch of the New Territories. He recalls experiencing the same during and after the Sars outbreak in 2003 – spurred by health concerns, many are looking to relocate from dense urban areas seeking not only views, but more space around them.

“There is an opportunity for buyers to trade up from a small apartment in the city to a bigger house, with a garden or rooftop, in a natural environment,” he says. “They come to Sai Kung or Clear Water Bay and feel relaxed – it feels like no other place in Hong Kong.”

Residents are prepared to commute (only around 25 minutes by car to Kowloon, Ma says), if it removes their worries around things like common drainage pipes and air conditioning in high-rise buildings, and also means they can avoid protests.

Recent high-end property sales in Sai Kung include HK$68 million for a resort-style villa house in Sussex Lodge on Silverstrand Bay, and HK$48 million paid for a 1,562 square foot sea-view villa on Chuk Yeung Road.

Properties currently available include a newly renovated, four-bedroom waterfront duplex with rooftop in Costa Bello, Tui Min Hoi, offering stunning sea views, which can never be built out (asking price HK$32 million).

Tai Tam

Average sale price: high-rise apartments HK$30,000-HK$40,000 per sq ft; town houses HK$35,000-HK$70,000 per sq ft.

Average monthly rental: high-rise apartments HK$45-HK$60 per sq ft; town houses HK$50-HK$70 per sq ft per month.

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K.S. Koh, chief executive and founder of Landscope Christie's International Real Estate, describes the sea views from south-facing Tai Tam as “serene and romantic”, quite different from the harbour views on the north side of Hong Kong Island. Residents look out beyond sandy swimming beaches at the sea stretching to the horizon. Attracting well-off families, this district has a campus of Hong Kong International School and the The American Club’s Country Club.

Tai Tam has a good supply of spacious, high-rise apartments like Pacific View and The Manhattan, as well as clusters of town houses such as Redhill Peninsula, a choice of low-rise apartments, and some detached houses. Koh says many properties are tightly held for long-term investment: for example, “the entire Manhattan development has been retained by [developer] Manhattan Garments International and Sun Hung Kai Properties still owns two of five blocks of Pacific View,” he says.

One of the best sea-view sites Koh has known in Hong Kong is on the tip of a peninsula at 45 Tai Tam Road. Once occupied by a single home, that prime site has recently been redeveloped by National Properties into seven exclusive town houses, two of which Koh believes have recently sold in the HK$400-HK$500 million price bracket.

Lantau

Average selling price: around HK$20,000 per sq ft (based on transactions in two popular developments, Whitesands and Botanica Bay).

Average rental: around HK$40 per sq ft.

Owen Yau, associate director at Savills, says many people tend to overlook Lantau when thinking of scenic coastal localities, but in fact this island district offers picture-postcard views of the South China Sea.

In low-density South Lantau, Yau finds that areas like Cheung Sha, Mui Wo and Pui O are sought after by people wanting to escape urban congestion. With road and ferry improvements ongoing under government policy, he says more are prepared to accept the commute. “Currently, the route from South Lantau to Central by car takes about 35-45 minutes, or 30 minutes by high-speed ferry from Mui Wo Pier to Central Pier,” Yau says. Hong Kong International Airport is nearby, and the opening of the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge has made commuting to the mainland convenient.

Depending on price, building age and views, housing prices vary considerably. A four-bedroom, three-bathroom sea view apartment in Swire's Whitesands opposite Cheung Sha Beach can command a monthly rental of HK$130,000, or sell for HK$72.8 million. A smaller flat in Riverview, Mui Wo, with no view, but within walking distance of the beach, can cost just HK$10,000-HK$15,000 to rent, or HK$15.5 million to buy.

The area has a resort-like vibe, and with many restaurants dotting the coast, Lantau ticks many boxes from a lifestyle perspective.

Ma On Shan

Average price: HK$10,585 per sq ft.

Rental: around HK$17,000 for a two-room flat in Wu Kai Sha.

Patrick Ng, Midland Realty Ma On Shan district sales director, says around 214 transactions were recorded in the second-hand property market in Ma On Shan in May 2020 – a 30 per cent increase on April, the previous monthly high.

Ng says this district has “incomparable sea and bright-lights views”. In the first-hand market, a three-bedroom apartment of 872 sq ft in Altissimo, facing Starfish Cove, has an asking price of around HK$15.563 million, while a four-bedroom, two-en suite apartment in Seanorama, of a similar size and view, is offered for around HK$24.548 million.

In the second-hand market, a two-bedroom flat in Double Cove has an asking price of HK$9.3 million (546 sq ft), or HK$12.3 million for a larger three-bedroom design in the same building.

This could be a good time to negotiate, Ng adds. Given the outlook on the property market and economic environment, cautious buyers are typically lowering their offer by around 3 to 6 per cent, he says.

Repulse Bay

Average sale price: from HK$35,000 per sq ft.

Average monthly rental: from around HK$70,000.

Tommy Kwan, of Okay Property Agency, says the main reason people choose Repulse Bay is for the wide sea view. “You can see as far as Lamma Island on a clear day,” he says.

Watching sunsets over the water are particularly peaceful to unwind after work, Kwan adds. He notes that the strategic arrangement of low-rise and high-rise housing ensures that all properties facing the sea retain uninterrupted views.

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Residents also like the fact there are green mountains behind their properties, Kwan says. “According to feng shui, mountains full of trees – and not all mountains in Hong Kong are like that; some are quite rocky – provide a good solid back while facing a calm sea.”

A relatively small (for the area) apartment of around 2,000 sq ft in a development like Repulse Bay Garden would cost HK$45-HK$55 million to buy. For a bigger unit of around 2,500 sq ft, expect to pay HK$85-HK$95 million. Explains Kwan: “The bigger units are more expensive not just because of the net size, but also as it is rare to have over 2,500 square foot in that compound.”

For those can afford it, Kwan adds, Repulse Bay is one of Hong Kong's most prestigious areas. “There always are luxury buyers waiting to purchase,” he says. But don't count on a bargain. “A stock market downturn or civil unrest does not have much impact on property prices in this area as owners are all cash rich and have no urgency to sell,” Kwan says. “Prices are solid and go up steadily over the years.”

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