Land sale in Hong Kong’s trendy SoHo district draws developers in record numbers

Forty-three developers expressed an interest in the Urban Renewal Authority’s commercial and residential project near Hong Kong’s SoHo district on Tuesday, a new record in terms of initial responses for tender.

The 9,580 sq ft plot, on Peel Street, is expected to fetch between HK$1.3 billion and HK$1.5 billion, or HK$13,000 per sq ft to HK$15,000 per sq ft.

“It is the strongest outcome ever generated for a land sale through tender,” said Alvin Lam, a director at Midland Surveyors.

He said it had broken the previous record, set in August 2015, when URA’s Shau Kei Wan project generated 38 expression of interest.

Lam attributed the overwhelming response mainly to the site’s prime location and the relatively small investment amount required.

He expects the project will require an investment cost of about HK$1.8 billion, with the winning developer eventually offering the new flats for HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 per sq ft.