Residents of Hong Kong’s Kennedy Town complain about surge of luxury flat building
A survey finds residents worry about the loss of a community spirit and local shops as well as affordability as new developments push home prices up
Property prices in Hong Kong’s Kennedy Town district have been on the rise since the city’s MTR subway network was extended to the area at the end of 2014, but many residents are not happy with the rush of new luxury developments that have sprung up.
Expecting strong demand in the area after the improvement to transport links, a number of developers have built luxury high-rise buildings, including 63 Pokfulam by Kowloon Development, prices for which start at HK$6.4 million for a 200 sq ft unit, or HK$30,622 per square foot. This is 17 per cent higher than the price of flats at the Imperial Kennedy development when they were sold by Sun Hung Kai Properties in 2013.
Property prices in Kennedy Town have risen by 15 per cent in the last 12 months, according to Derek Lau, senior sales director at Centaline Property Agency, and he sees them rising a further 10 per cent in the coming year.
But a survey released by property company Grosvenor last week showed that existing residents felt the area suffered from a higher cost of living and a shortage of community and cultural facilities.
A focus group study with 30 residents and face-to-face surveys with a further 608 residents, conducted by Tim Jowett, Grosvenor’s director of investment strategy and analysis for Asia Pacific, found that the current pace of development was seen as unwelcome and disruptive to the environment and to affordability.
In particular, new high-rise luxury properties were seen by residents as undesirable because they brought in extra population, causing the cost of living to surge through increased rents and leading to the loss of affordable local shops. Others worried about peace and quiet and the sense of safety within the community.