Strong bidding interest expected for luxury site in Ho Man Tin

A luxury residential site up for tender in Ho Man Tin is likely to attract keen bidding responses from developers, according to market observers.

With a maximum gross floor area of about 387,741 sq ft, the site should be worth between HK$9,800 and HK$11,300 per sq ft. The tender closes on Friday.

"This site is in the limelight because it is rare to find a luxury residential site in the urban area. It should garner strong interest from developers," said Centaline Surveyors' director, James Cheung King-tat, who put a price tag of HK$4.27 billion on the site.

"Since the size of this land parcel is not too large, it should also be able to attract different types of developers," he added.

In March, Kerry Properties won a larger neighbouring site at the junction of Sheung Lok and Sheung Shing streets for HK$11.69 billion, equating to HK$10,233 per sq ft.

Surveyors expect the latest site up for tender will be sold at a similar per sq ft price.

"Since the sites are close to each other, they can create a synergistic effect, plus boost efficiency, so Kerry Properties is likely to bid for it," said Ringo Lam Chun-chiu, valuation director at AG Wilkinson & Associates.

Developers who submitted bids for the previous Ho Man Tin site, such as Sun Hung Kai Properties, Cheung Kong (Holdings), Sino Land, Henderson Land Development, and Nan Fung Development, were likely to be in the bidding again, said Lam, who predicted the site would be sold for HK$4 billion.

Also up for tender on Friday is another commercial site in Po Tai Street in Ma On Shan.

According to the tender notice, the site should be used to build a property with a maximum gross floor area of 164,366 sq ft for shops, services, entertainment and restaurants.

Surveyors believe the government will fetch between HK$600 million and HK$1.31 billion, or HK$3,650 to HK$8,000 per sq ft for the site, which is located near the housing estate Villa Oceania.

"It's not a very popular site and the development potential is not very high because it is not situated in a retail hot spot like Tsim Sha Tsui," said Lam.

But developers may bring a special idea or concept to develop the plot, he added, and it could be used for a hotel. Given the location, he estimated the selling price would be some HK$710 million or HK$4,320 per sq ft.

Midland surveyors' director Alvin Lam Tsz-pun said the site was likely to be turned into a shopping mall because there were many private and public housing estates in the neighbourhood, which had limited sizeable shopping facilities.

The retail premise will therefore target residents in the area, he said, and the site could fetch about HK$600 million, or HK$3,650 per sq ft.

Kerry Properties is part of Kerry Group, the controlling shareholder of the SCMP Group, which publishes the South China Morning Post.