財團於2020年前就擺花街一幢申請強拍，未獲批准，最新購入該舊樓的一個地鋪連閣樓，將令收購計畫取得突破，該地鋪作價8280萬，較市價高出約50%，平均每呎8.28萬。
上址為中環擺花街11號地鋪連入則閣，建築面積各為約1000方呎，以8280萬易手，平均呎價8.28萬，鋪位闊19呎，深41呎，租客The Candel Company。原業主2001年8月以700萬買入鋪位，持貨逾21年，帳面獲利7580萬，物業升值逾10倍。
持貨21年升值逾10倍
盛滙商舖基金創辦人李根興評論道，上述地鋪市值約5000至6000萬，月租約11至12萬，料回報約2.5厘，因此，收購價高市價50%，不過，較5年前的收購價大跌，毗鄰的9、13、15及17號地鋪連閣樓，面積相若，早於2018年被收購，作價分別為1.48億、1.336億、1.35億及1.48億，最新鋪位收購價較5年前低逾40%。
上述擺花街9至19號舊樓，市傳由新世界相關的財團收購，早於2018年之前涉足該項目，並於2020年5月，就11至17號涉及4個地段的2幢舊樓，合併申請強拍，當時，11號地下及閣樓業主 (即上述成交鋪位的業主)，對申請提出質疑，反對強拍。
收購價較5年前低40%
去年11月，審裁官作出裁決，由於擺花街11至13號舊樓，與15至17號並無連接樓梯，不應以同一個申請處理，而申請者已擁有15至17號全數業權，並不合強拍條例，因此，申請人只可就餘下的11至13號舊樓，繼續申請強拍程序。業內人士指，經歷數年來鋪市大跌，最終鋪主有見收購價高於市價50%，才首肯被收購。
財團五年前收購擺花街舊樓，地鋪收購價由逾1.3至1.48億，其中一個拒絕收購，隨着鋪市大跌，最新僅以8280萬獲收購。
(星島日報)
Sluggish Hong Kong office-rental market shows signs of bottoming out as enquiries pick up, analysts foresee rising rents
Rents are expected to edge up by the end of the year, according to market players
The office vacancy rate stood at 14.4 per cent last year, the highest since 1998
Hong Kong’s depressed office-rental market is showing signs of bottoming out, with agents fielding more leasing enquiries and rents expected to edge up by the end of the year, according to market players.
The reopening of the border with mainland China has resulted in a significant increase in enquiries, according to Hongkong Land, Central’s biggest landlord.
“Leasing has been quite active recently,” an agent said. “Landlords have greater confidence and are panicking less.”
At the beginning of the year, the market was still difficult “since we needed to recoup previous losses in the last three years of the pandemic”, the agent added. “Market sentiment should improve at year’s end.”
In the last three years, overall office rents have sunk 22 per cent, she said, adding that the decline has slowed this year, with rents dipping 0.8 per cent overall as of late March. Rents may edge up about 3 per cent this year, the agent added.
Hong Kong’s overall office vacancy rate stood at 14.4 per cent last year, the highest since 1998, according to the Hong Kong Property Review 2023 published by the Rating and Valuation Department on Friday. In Kowloon East, vacancy rate amounts to as much as 20 per cent, though rents edged up in the fourth quarter, the agent said.
For 2022 as a whole, real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 3.5 per cent. Looking ahead, the Hong Kong economy is expected to stage a rebound in 2023, with real GDP forecast to grow by 3.5 to 5.5 per cent, according to the government.
Another agency echoed the agent’s view, finding in a report that the Hong Kong office market saw stronger activity in February as market sentiment improved in tandem with the revival of economic activity, though rents still dipped.
Companies from multiple sectors took advantage of the favourable market for tenants in February to consolidate and upgrade their office space. For example, Canadian pension fund CPPIB leased two floors in Henderson Land’s new and as yet incomplete 36-floor The Henderson, in a consolidation from York House, another agency said.
An unnamed beverage company is also relocating from Exchange Tower in Kowloon Bay to The Henderson, and luxury brand Hermes is relocating its office with an upgrade and consolidation from Chinachem Leighton Plaza to Lee Garden One, the agency added.
Increasing demand for small and medium-sized space continues to favour the co-working sector, fuelling expansion, the consultancy said.
“If you go back over the last three years, we had certain months that were pretty grim,” said Neil Anderson, director and head of office, commercial property at Hongkong Land, which has 4.9 million sq ft of commercial real estate in Central. “It’s fair to say we’re talking single digits. I think there was one month where we had eight introductions in terms of the demand for office space – pretty lacklustre.”
Leasing enquiries then rose to 21 in January, 39 in February and 46 as of March 28, he said last week at an event hosted by the landlord.
“Forty-six is very high,” Anderson said. “We’re not going to be doing deals with every single inquiry – that’s just the nature of the business. But in terms of the level of demand, and how busy we are as a business, that does kind of tell you that things are looking a lot more optimistic and healthy. Transaction volumes will come later.”
Companies from mainland China are also on the market for deals, according to an analyst. Companies including Huawei Technologies and Huatai Financial have leased office space in Central, another agent said.
(South China Morning Post)
For more information of Office for Lease at The Henderson please visit: Office for Lease at The Henderson
For more information of Office for Lease at York House please visit: Office for Lease at York House
For more information of Grade A Office for Lease in Central please visit: Grade A Office for Lease in Central
For more information of Office for Lease at Exchange Tower please visit: Office for Lease at Exchange Tower
For more information of Grade A Office for Lease in Kowloon Bay please visit: Grade A Office for Lease in Kowloon Bay
For more information of Office for Lease in Chinachem Leighton Plaza please visit: Office for Lease in Chinachem Leighton Plaza
For more information of Office for Lease in Lee Garden One please visit: Office for Lease in Lee Garden One
For more information of Grade A Office for Lease in Causeway Bay please visit: Grade A Office for Lease in Causeway Bay
Chinachem, MTR sell 70 per cent of flats at In One project amid improving sentiment
The project’s geographical advantage and location above a MTR station are attractive to many investors, an agent says
Sales this weekend have attracted quite a good response so far: another agent said
Chinachem Properties and the MTR Corp sold 151 – about 70 per cent – of the 210 flats on offer at their latest project, In One, on Sunday, as easing interest rate rises boost sentiment among homebuyers and investors.
The units at In One, phase 1C of the Ho Man Tin station property development, consist of two and three-bedroom units ranging between 423 to 934 sq ft in size. After discounts, they are priced between HK$12.18 million (US$1.64 million) and HK$29.77 million, with a discounted average price per square foot of HK$29,348.
“The project’s geographical advantage and location above a MTR station are also attractive to many investors, who made up 40 per cent of our clients,” an agent said. Young people aged below 40 years accounted for 70 per cent of all buyers.
The average price after discount was higher than the HK$27,083 per square foot offered in previous rounds, but Chinachem said the current round included apartments on higher floors and should not be compared directly. Homebuyers bought all 179 units of phase 1B last Monday.
Three customers bought two flats at In One, with one spending about HK$38 million on a three-bedroom unit and a two-bedroom unit, an agent said.
Homebuyers also snapped up 75 per cent of flats at Wheelock Properties’ Koko Mare in Lam Tin within three hours on Saturday.
“Sales this weekend have attracted quite a good response so far, selling 70 to 80 per cent on first days of sales,” another agent said. “Market activity is still strong in the first-hand market.”
When compared with the previous week, however, the number of first-hand transactions dropped from more than 600 units to around 360 units this weekend, the agent said. “It seems that first-hand demand dried up a bit after the market took up over 2,000 first-hand transactions in March,” the agent said.
Sales of brand new homes might slow down further during the long Easter holiday, with many local buyers travelling, the agent said.
Other recent launches, including Star Properties’ After The Rain project in Yuen Long, Henderson Land’s One Innovale in Fanling and Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Novo Land in Tuen Mun, have also attracted strong interest.
Property demand has surged in Hong Kong amid hopes that the city has reached a peak in terms of interest rate increases. Sales of new and lived-in homes could hit 66,000 units this year, up nearly 50 per cent from last year, according to market observers.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority last month raised the city’s base rate to a 15-year high of 5.25 per cent, after the US Federal Reserve increased its target rate by a quarter point. However, Hong Kong’s major lenders, including HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong), kept their best lending rates unchanged between 5.625 per cent and 5.875 per cent.
A total of 13,161 residential units, comprising 1,958 new homes and 11,203 lived-in units, have been sold in Hong Kong between January 1 and March 22, according to Land Registry data. The transactions were 25 per cent higher compared with the same period a year ago.
The reopening of the border between Hong Kong and mainland China is also boosting confidence among investors, who are snapping up property, as an economic recovery in Hong Kong is also likely to bolster demand for homes in the city.
An agent said the easing banking crisis in US and Europe has also boosted buyer sentiment, as well as a rebound in Hong Kong stocks. These circumstances have led to a boost among middle-class buyers, who are more confident about entering the market.
“Brand-new homes are still very attractive and it is believed that the hot sales seen in March can be maintained,” the agent said.
(South China Morning Post)
255 homes snapped up as weekend sales boom
At least 255 flats were sold from two new projects - In One and Koko Mare - over the weekend while transactions in the secondary market also rebounded.
In One atop the Ho Man Tin MTR station sold 152 units as of 6.30pm yesterday at a discounted average price of HK$28,036 per square foot.
The project is co-developed by Chinachem and MTR Corporation (0066), and a total of 210 flats were put for sale on the price lists yesterday, including 142 two-bedroom and 68 three-bedroom units. The cheapest unit was priced at HK$12.2 million.
Chinachem said that within the first half hour of sales, customers had already picked 50 flats, with the majority of them buying the units for self-occupancy.
During the period, there were five instances where groups of buyers purchased two units each. Of these, three groups opted to buy one 2-bedroom and one 3-bedroom unit each.
The highest transaction amount recorded among these purchases was approximately HK$40 million.
Meanwhile, Wheelock Properties kicked off sales for the first batch of flats at Koko Mare in Lam Tin on Saturday and sold 103 homes within three hours, raking in about HK$860 million from the sales.
The initial batch of apartments included 138 flats which were sold at a discounted average price of HK$18,386 per sq ft.
In Tuen Mun, Emperor International's (0163) Seaside Castle recorded the first deal of the year yesterday when House No 2 at the development sold for more than HK$126 million or HK$30,000 per sq ft.
The house, with a sea view, spans an area of 4,213 sq ft and features four bedrooms as well as a garden measuring 457 sq ft, a rooftop of 884 sq ft, and two private car parking spaces.
The property also includes a lift that provides access to all levels of the house.
In other new home sales, Henderson Land's (0012) One Innovale in Fanling sold four apartments yesterday, cashing in about HK$18.8 million.
A property agency said there will likely be more new projects launching sales this month.
To maintain the high level of sales seen in March for primary properties, developers are expected to continue offering attractive prices.
This is likely to result in the number of transactions reaching 2,500 in April, marking a 29-month high, it said.
Besides, the agency noted that the improved market sentiment boosted sales of second-hand homes as the number of transactions in 10 major housing estates over the weekend rose 67 percent week-on-week to 10.
(The Standard)
