Luxury six-bedroom Repulse Bay property will test market at HK$328m

The market for super-deluxe houses will be tested with the release for sale of a six-bedroom house in Repulse Bay at HK$64,617 per sq ft.

That will put a price tag of HK$328 million on the 5,076 sq ft property, located at 56 Repulse Bay Road and which comes with a 1,544 sq ft rooftop and three covered car parking spaces.

The record price for a house in Hong Kong was HK$134,000 per sq ft paid for No10 Pollock's Path on The Peak in 2011.

But developers started offering their new houses at a discount of five to eight per cent after the hefty increase in stamp duty in February last year.

"It is the biggest house in Repulse Bay," said Henry Mok, regional director for projects and sales and Hong Kong capital markets at Jones Lang LaSalle, the sole agent for the property. The owner bought two adjoining houses, No3 and No5, and connected them into one super-sized house that commands full sea views over Repulse Bay. The properties were bought by a local family in 2004. "The owners have now moved to another home and have decided to sell," said Mok.

Since the owner is not offering any preferential terms, such as a discount on stamp duty, a prospective corporate buyer will have to pay an extra HK$20.23 million in duties on the deal.

The top duty - levied on properties that sell for more than HK$20 million - was raised to 8.5 per cent of the property's value from 4.25 per cent in February last year.

But Mok said: "We believe that a buyer will not mind paying the duty to secure such a large and rare property."

Most houses being offered for sale in Repulse Bay were between 3,000 and 4,000 sq ft, he added.

In December last year Sun Hung Kai Properties sold three luxury houses at Shouson Peak in Deep Water Bay. A 50 per cent subsidy on stamp duty helped to lure buyers.

A 3,603 sq ft house with a 750 sq ft terrace and a 1,143 sq ft garden sold for HK$262.8 million, or HK$72,949 per sq ft, five per cent lower than its listed price of HK$276.67 million.

And a 3,227 sq ft house with 717 sq ft terrace and 585 sq ft garden, sold for HK$229.89 million, or HK$71,242 per sq ft, eight per cent lower than its listed price.

Hutchison Whampoa sold four houses at 28 Barker Road on The Peak for between HK$93,113 per sq ft to HK$107,825 per sq ft in December and January.

There are seven houses in the development, ranging from 5,271 to 6,863 sq ft, and the remaining three are yet to be sold.