Sigh of relief as second plot on Hong Kong’s Kai Tak runway fetches more than first
- The higher price reflects the new site’s superior views, not a recovery in land prices, says senior analyst
- Goldin Financial won the tender for the second residential site on the runway of Kai Tak airport for HK$8.9 billion (US$1.14 billion)
Hong Kong property observers breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday when a piece of prime waterfront land at the city’s former airport fetched a higher price than a neighbouring plot a week earlier because of its superior sea views.
Goldin Financial Holdings won the tender for the second residential site on the runway of Kai Tak airport for HK$8.9 billion (US$1.14 billion), or HK$15,497 per square foot, the Lands Department said on Wednesday.
The price tag for the plot, known as Kai Tak Area 4B Site 4, is 6.9 per cent higher than the HK$14,500 per square foot paid at the last tender on November 7.
Many market watchers had expected the price to fall, or at best stay the same, as Hong Kong’s housing market enters a downturn, with demand dampened by a cluster of factors including rising interest rates and the US-China trade war. But the higher price per square foot reflected the new plot’s superior location rather than a recovery in the market, a senior property analyst said.
The first residential site on the runway, located adjacent to the second one and known as Kai Tak Area 4B Site 3, was won last week by a consortium comprising Wheelock Properties, New World Development, Henderson Land Development and Empire Development Hong Kong for HK$8.33 billion.