HK$3million for a 170 sq flat just the beginning: Tiny flats even more expensive than Tung led to believe
Transaction prices can be higher in per square foot terms than some luxury homes
The head of the Our Hong Kong Foundation think tank, former special administrative region chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, might be shocked to learn that tiny flats can be even more expensive than he has been led to believe.
Property agents say developers who have spotted small flats as a lucrative and untapped market have been selling tiny flats – of less than 200 sq ft – since last year.
READ: HK$3m for a 170 sq ft flat? Ex-chief executive proposes release of more land to ease Hong Kong's 'shocking' housing crunch
Transaction prices, in per square foot terms, were comparable or even more expensive than some luxury homes, agents said, but demand was not bad because of the small lump sum payments required.
On Monday, Tung, who was Hong Kong’s first chief executive for eight years from the 1997 handover, expressed his concern over the housing problem in the city. He said he was shocked by high home prices after a woman told him she planned to buy a 170 sq ft home for more than HK$3 million for her family of three.
But tiny flats can cost a lot more. For example, Henderson Land Development is selling 198 sq ft units at its Eltanin Square Mile development in Mong Kok for HK$4.16 million, or HK$21,015 per square foot.
After a 10 per cent discount offered by the developer, the units cost HK$3.74 million, or nearly HK$19,000 per square foot, agents said.
The price is comparable to transactions price at Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam in per saleable area terms. In September, a unit at Block 6 Redhill Peninsula was sold in the secondary market for HK$19.59 million or HK$19,265 per square foot, according to Centaline Property data.