甲廈租售價連跌八個月上環金鐘成重災區

新冠肺炎逐漸演變成為環球大疫症，市場憂慮環球經濟衰退，寫字樓市場受沉重打擊。有代理報告指出，上月指標甲廈售價及租金按月分別再挫1.2%及1.8%，雙雙連跌第8個月，並以上環及金鐘表現最差，紛重返三年前水平。

租售價重返三年前水平

報告指出，上月金鐘甲廈售價按月挫5.3%，是各區表現最差，最新平均呎價僅30869元，較2018年底的38803元高位跌約20%，重返2017年中，即中環美利道地王賣地時水平。

上環甲廈呎價按月無變化，最新呎價僅27381元，也重回2017年中水平，意味着過去2至3年間購入物業的業主，有機會帳面遭遇損失。

金鐘甲廈呎租按月跌2.6%

上月金鐘及上環甲廈呎租分別按月挫2.6%及1.4%，其中美國銀行中心一個單位，以每呎約42元租出，創下該廈十年新低紀錄，同時較該單位舊租金跌33%。

代理指出，新近國際油價突然急跌，市場擔心加劇全球經濟大衰退，與股市及經濟表現關連甚大的商廈市場，前景絕不樂觀。

代理續指，除了環球經濟不明朗之外，近期不少中資外資企業，希望將辦公室的規模減少，而新近一連串逼在眉睫的經濟危機，將令到企業變得更謹慎，預計這將會對今年的寫字樓租金及售價構成嚴重壓力。　

代理表示，觀塘鴻圖道44至46號世紀工商中心高層單位，建築面積約5833方呎，業主意向價約3200萬，呎價約5400元。世紀工商中心於1983年入伙，去年買賣及租務約10數宗，代理指，各單位間隔方正實用，設洗手間，配上全新共享工作室裝修，買家可即買即用，同時可放租，回報達4.5厘。

(星島日報)

中環海濱商地王 料建新派商廈

屬於新賣地表內最矚目的中環新海濱3號商業地王，可建樓面逾180萬平方呎。零售前景不明朗，測量師估計，發展商逾6成樓面作寫字樓發展，料興建高度比較矮的新派商廈。

該幅地皮位於怡和大廈對出，比鄰國際金融中心2期 (IFC2)，旁邊是旅遊景點香港摩天輪，佔地近52萬平方呎，按照規劃大綱圖，總可建樓面約184萬平方呎，當中約22.8萬平方呎須作為政府設施，包括重置現時的郵政總局，餘下約160萬平方呎樓面則作為商業發展。

該用地將會成為中環核心區最後一幅超大型商業地，亦將會成為未來的中環海濱地標。有別於現時國際金融中心2期屬於摩天大廈，新海濱地皮料興建一排低矮的商廈。

當中地皮東面部分建築高限為16米(主水平基準以上，下同)，相信比較適合興建數層高的商場，而東面部分高度限制則為50米，預計可以興建8至10層高比較低矮的商廈。

有代理指出，由於規劃上想保留天際綫，所以不會興建太高的商廈，這種新派商廈近年在國際亦流行，包括倫敦的金絲雀碼頭，亦頗受市場歡迎。

至於商業樓面的分配，代理估計，發展商將保留6成至7成樓面作為寫字樓，餘下就作為商場，而視乎中標財團的情況，估計項目落成後寫字樓呎租達140至170元水平。

罕有採「雙信封制」招標

政府罕有就地皮採用「雙信封制」招標，亦即是發展商除了要提交地價競投外，亦要提交設計方案等，政府在審批的時候亦會考慮設計元素，不一定價高者得。

中環對上一幅商業地在2017年5月批出，恒地 (00012) 以232.8億元投得美利道地皮，每呎樓面地價達5萬元。

雖然今次新海濱地王位置更佳，不過規模太大，加上遇上市況影響，估值約645億至792.4億元，每呎樓面地價約3.5萬至4.3萬元。代理比較悲觀，估值屬於市場下限。該代理認為，始終銀碼太大，去到500億至600億元已經是發展商心理關口。

目前中環甲級商廈呎租逾100元，屬於超甲廈的國際金融中心2期呎租約160元，較高峰期200元有所回落，而交易廣場呎租則約120元左右。

(經濟日報)

MTR Corp plans gradual opening of Lohas Park mall amid struggle to find retail tenants

The MTR Corporation is struggling to find tenants to fill up The Lohas shopping centre in Tseung Kwan O because retailers are hesitant to commit to long-term leases amid a slump in consumer sentiment caused by months of social unrest and coronavirus.

The Lohas, which spans three-stories with a 480,000 sq ft of gross retail space, will open for business in phases from the second half this year, according to property director David Tang Chi-fai. Slightly more than half of the 150 store spaces have been taken up, he disclosed on Monday.

“Many executives in the retail and catering sectors are quite conservative when it comes to opening up new shops [amid the coronavirus situation], which has delayed our plans for tenant sign-ups” Tang said. “The progress is not in line with our targets.”

Hong Kong’s retail industry has endured a prolonged slide since anti-government protests broke out in June last year, starving the city of its lifeblood, the mainland Chinese tourists and their purchasing power. The onset of Covid-19 epidemic has now compounded the dire outlook, with retail sales sliding by record pace during the busiest festive periods on the calendar.

Retail sales plunged 24.1 per cent in January from a year earlier, while mainland tourist arrivals fell to only 3,000 on average in February, compared with 200,000 last year, the government has said. Several retail chains have scaled back their operations in Hong Kong as sales slumped, including cosmetics group Sa Sa International, jewellery firm Chow Tai Fook and furniture store operator Pricerite Group.

Lohas Park is Hong Kong’s largest residential enclave, with an estimated 58,000 residents in 21,500 flats, when the project is completed in 2025. Residents living in about 10,000 housing units in Lohas Park have been waiting over a decade for a local shopping centre to meet daily necessities such as groceries and restaurants.

Tang said the signing up of new retail tenants has slowed over the past six weeks following the outbreak. Grocery stores and restaurants are the main sign-ups, while there is some resistance from cosmetics chains and luxury shop operators, he said, adding that talks regarding an ice-skating rink and a cinema are underway.

The government-controlled company has had to cut rents for all small and medium-enterprise tenants at its railway stations and 13 other shopping malls in February and March to help ease their financial strain. Tang said the MTR Corporation “will definitely consider” offering more concessions to retailers if the gloom persists.

A gradual opening of The Lohas is a better choice for MTR than waiting out for a market upturn, an agent said.

“We can expect quite a bit of foot traffic from local residents in the new mall, especially in supermarkets and restaurants,” the agent said. “They have waited for a long time for this mall to finally open and would make their lives much more convenient.”

The Lohas shopping centre is the rail operator’s largest residential area retail arcade since PopCorn2 in Tseung Kwan O in 2012. Earlier this year, it bought interest in two shopping malls from New World Development for HK$3 billion, which Tang said was aimed at boosting its future recurrent income to fund railway maintenance and upgrade.

The city’s sole rail operator faced a 44.8 per cent plunge in its recurrent profits in 2019, after writing off costs on the Sha Tin-Central rail link and its South Western Railway franchise in London. Last year, its revenues grew 1.1 per cent to HK$54 billion net profit dropped 25.5 per cent to HK$11.9 billion.

(South China Morning Post)