Magnetic Mong Kok: convenient location a drawcard for Hong Kong’s young families

Mong Kok has emerged as a preferred district for young couples on the lookout for a convenient place to live in Kowloon. Along with the surrounding district of Prince Edward, Mong Kok has seen a host of new developments springing up during the past five years.

Mong Kok has carved out an enviable reputation as a leading destination for shoppers and food lovers. With many shops and restaurants that stay open late into the night, it is a hub for locals and tourists alike looking for serious retail therapy and bargains.

Thanks to Mong Kok’s central location, it boasts excellent connectivity to the rest of the city via the MTR network and other transport links. Eastbound, it is within easy reach of Kowloon East, and Hong Kong’s financial heart, Central, is a mere 15-minute MTR ride away.

Mong Kok has infinitely more options going for it than the neon-light streetscape depicted in numerous 1990s movies. As a residential location, it offers a number of quiet retreats tucked a comfortable distance off bustling Nathan Road.

A large residential cluster is spread across Boundary Street and Prince Edward East and many of the smaller streets in between. Housing choices vary from old walk-ups to suites and apartments in modern high-rises.

Towering over the surrounding buildings, High Park Grand rises above the corner of Sai Yee Street, just off Boundary Street, and provides 41family-sized homes of 972 sq ft to 1,938 sq ft.

Just across the street is another Henderson Land project, High Park, which consists of 59 units arranged over 24 storeys. Both buildings were completed in 2015.

Near the intersection of Prince Edward East and Nathan Road, Bijou Court, a single-block complex built by New World and Asia Standard in 2000, and the nearby Bijou Apartments, are other visible apartment complexes.

On the outskirts of Mong Kok, towards Ho Man Tin, the quiet neighbourhoods stretching along Argyle Street and Waterloo Road offer quiet sanctuaries and hideaways.

A handful of apartment buildings have popped up in the area near Victory Avenue in recent times. The 20-storey One Victory, built in 2011, provides 63 homes, ranging from 350 sq ft to 1,300 sq ft.

Phoenix Property Investors says it has handed over most of the units in its new building at 3 Julia Avenue to more than 80 per cent of the owners.

By mid-February, two units were still on sale at 3 Julia Avenue. They were 1,025 sq ft and 1,093, sq ft in size, respectively, and priced at about HK$24,000 per sq ft, factoring out discounts.

Three more special units are to be offered for sale by tender. Manhattan Group, represented by leasing agent JLL Residential, is marketing its 36-unit rental project, The Argyle, at 102 Argyle Street, providing a mix of two- and three-bedroom dwellings, including furnished homes with fully integrated kitchen.

Leasing began in October last year. Rental rates start from HK$54 per sq ft per month with flexible rental terms available, from six months to two years, according to the developer, who says that it would make an ideal home for smaller families and executives who need to commute to work in Central, Tsim Sha Tsui or Kowloon East.

Henderson Land has been at work on the Seven Victory Avenue project since last August, according to Buildings Department records.

As a micro-apartment complex, the building offers 250 modestly-sized units from 161 sq ft to 390 sq ft.

After being granted the occupation permit, CITIC Pacific Properties has disclosed that it would open its 77-unit project, Kadooria, in a secluded site at 111-133 Kadoorie Avenue, for sale during the second half of the year when interior fit-out works have been completed.

Like other urban areas, future housing supply will mainly come from redevelopment projects.

Construction started on two redevelopment sites, at 2-4 Yin Chong Street and 29-31 Argyle Street, last July and November, respectively, according to Buildings Department records.

These two redevelopment projects will provide a total of 54 units upon completion.

A building on a residential site at 294-296A Prince Edward Road East was sold to a “local family for redevelopment purposes”, according to A.G. Wilkinson & Associates, the agent who closed the deal.

The site covers 12,334 sq ft and can accommodate 61,670 sq ft of gross floor area. It works out to an accommodation value of HK$8,367 per sq ft.

Secondary market activity slowed appreciably in January, figures compiled by Ricacorp Properties showed.

Transaction volumes across Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei fell 49 per cent to 96 deals, from the corresponding period in 2016.