Mid-Levels Gehry flat sets record of HK$68,000 a sq ft

A buyer has paid HK$68,083 per square foot for a luxury flat at Opus Hong Kong, the new Frank Gehry-designed residential building in Mid-Levels East, a record for an apartment in Hong Kong and Asia in terms of price per square foot.

Data from the Lands Registry show the flat, on the 9th floor of the building at 53 Stubbs Road, was sold for HK$455 million on October 17, nine days before the government announced measures to curb property speculation. There is no information on the buyer.

The 6,683 sq ft flat offers a view of the city and Victoria Harbour.

The price beat the previous record, set by a duplex flat at 39 Conduit Road in Mid-Levels West, which sold for HK$360.7 million, or HK$63,999 per sq ft in April last year.

Ricky Poon, executive director of Colliers International's residential sales department, believes the buyer was willing to pay a record-breaking price because there is a lack of flats bigger than 6,000 sq ft and it is the latest luxury development in the city.

The price is almost 6 per cent higher than that paid for a flat on the 8th floor at Opus Hong Kong, which sold for HK$430 million or HK$63,657 per sq ft in August.

The 12-storey Opus Hong Kong, developed by Swire Properties, provides 10 flats and two double-level garden apartments with private swimming pools. The flats are 6,000 to 6,900 sq ft. Gehry's previous designs include the Guggenheim Museum in Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Despite the luxury residential market taking a hit from the government's new measures since the record-breaking deal was signed, Poon said he did not expect the buyer to cancel. "I don't think Swire would cut their asking prices for the remaining flats. They would rather keep the flats for leasing. And luxury residential prices have dropped a few per cent only and the buyer did not need to pay the new buyer's stamp duty and new rate of special stamp duty," he said.

However, Poon said, sales of luxury flats have dropped significantly since the end of October as the new stamp duty had kept many mainland buyers away. "Transaction numbers will drop a further 30 to 40 per cent in the coming three to six months and prices will fall 10 to 15 per cent in the coming six months," he said.