Kowloon Tong’s Beacon Hill may fetch record HK$7.5 billion at auction
Eleven developers including Cheung Kong, Henderson, Sun Hung Kai, Kerry, K Wah and Wheelock submitted bids
A tract of land at Kowloon Tong’s Beacon Hill could fetch a record HK$7.5 billion at auction, in what could be the Hong Kong government’s most expensive land sale this year.
The site, measuring 235,182 square feet in the tony neighbourhood of Lung Cheung Road, received 11 bids, according to a Lands Department spokesman.
The upbeat interest follows a 2 per cent rise in Hong Kong’s August price index for private homes to 287.4, the fifth consecutive month of advances, bringing the total gains over the period to 5.9 per cent.
“The recent home buying frenzy and rebound in apartment prices will encourage developers to bid aggressively for the Beacon Hill site,” said James Cheung, a director at Centaline Surveyors. “The plot will likely set a new benchmark in the area.”
Home prices are now a mere 6.1 per cent away from their September 2015 peak, according to government data. Meanwhile, the July rental index rose 0.8 per cent, compared with June.