In Niseko, Hong Kong developer banks on luxury hotels, bullet train and Richard Li to ride ski resort boom
- Odin Properties sells 10 per cent of residential plots in Hanazono village amid rising popularity of Hokkaido ski resort
- Richard Li’s Park Hyatt, YTL group’s Ritz-Carlton Reserve are among new additions to Niseko scene in 2020
A Hong Kong-based luxury property developer is making the Hanazono village in Niseko its next launch pad to profitability as the Japanese ski resort town grows in popularity.
Odin Properties sold eight of the 88 plots at the Odin Hills residential project in the popular Hokkaido ski resort at the opening sales in Hong Kong on December 6, according to co-founder Chris Fjelddahl. They were snapped up by buyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
The starting price for a plot, ranging from 900 to 1,000 sq m (10,763 sq ft), is US$900,000 and building a 200-sq m house on the land would cost an estimated US$1.2 million, the developer said.
Odin Properties is spending about US$20 million to build the infrastructure in the first phase from April next year, before home construction can take place about a year later.
“The boom is on the way now, we’ve got the additional hotels coming, we’ve got a number of openings earmarked and announced,” said Fjelddahl. “We think from here on Niseko will be a lot more international, and a lot more heavyweight in terms of gravitas of the brand.”
The developer is banking on a slew of luxury developments in Niseko to attract buyers to its Japanese and European-styled mountain village project. They include the Park Hyatt hotel by Richard Li’s Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve by the YTL group from Malaysia, while a new bullet railway station in the vicinity could also add value to the surrounding properties.