Ho Man Tin Station development draws just six bids, despite low land premium
Muted response may indicate a lack of experience cooperating with MTR Corp among developers
MTR Corp has received just six bids from developers, largely local players, for the tender of a luxury residential project above Ho Man Tin MTR Station despite the government offering a lower than expected land premium to drum up interest.
The outcome stood in marked contrast to the overwhelming response to most government sites sold through tender.
“The number of bids is lower than my expectation,” said Alfred Lau, a property analyst at Bocom International. “The only explanation is that most developers have a lack of experience cooperating with MTR Corp.”
He said the outcome would not have been greatly affected by a 25 basis point increase in US interest rates last week or the new stamp duty on property purchases recently introduced in Hong Kong. Last week’s government tender of a residential site at Kai Tak attracted 21 bids, with HNA winning the plot for HK$5.41 billion on Monday.
Among the six bidders for the Ho Man Tin development, four have experience of working on property projects with the rail operator.