Affluent Hong Kong investors – from the former CEO of the Hong Kong stock exchange to the chairman of Great Eagle Holdings – have been snapping up residential properties, despite doubts by many prospective homebuyers that prices of flats across the city have hit bottom.
Francis Yuen Tin-fan and his wife Rose Lee Wai-mun spent HK$92 million (US$11.8 million) on two luxury flats at The Knightsbridge in Kai Tak over a span of two months. Their latest transaction on Tuesday was for a 1,259 sq ft unit that cost HK$45.5 million, according to the Land Registry. In early July, the couple bought a 1,298 sq ft four-bedroom unit in the same project for HK$46.5 million.
The Knightsbridge, located at 22 Shing Fung Road on the former airport runway, is a 566-unit development by a consortium that includes China Overseas Land and Henderson Land.
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Yuen, a 73-year-old native of Shanghai, and his wife have been active in the city’s high-end residential property market. He was CEO of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong – predecessor to bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing – from 1988 to 1991.
Hang Seng University of Hong Kong confers an honorary doctorate to Francis Yuen Tin-fan at a ceremony held in March 2023. Photo: SCMP alt=Hang Seng University of Hong Kong confers an honorary doctorate to Francis Yuen Tin-fan at a ceremony held in March 2023. Photo: SCMP>
Lo Ka-shui, chairman and managing director of property developer Great Eagle, and his family have also been acquiring new flats across Hong Kong Island and the New Territories in recent months.
The Lo family acquired 11 units at the Deep Water Pavilia project, a development led by MTR Corp and New World Development (NWD), according to agents. Of the six units bought in early August, prices ranged from HK$12.5 million to HK$12.7 million, or about HK$21,000 per square foot, according to transaction register records.
According to local media reports, the Lo family in July also bought four units for about HK$53 million at NWD’s Pavilia Farm project in Tai Wai.
Lo Ka-shui, chairman and managing director at Great Eagle Holdings. Photo: May Tse. alt=Lo Ka-shui, chairman and managing director at Great Eagle Holdings. Photo: May Tse.>
The latest acquisitions made by affluent Hong Kong property investors reflect further signs of confidence in the local market, as homebuyers await the start of a downward cycle for lending costs.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority reduced the city’s base rate by a quarter point to 4.5 per cent – the lowest since December 2022, matching the US Federal Reserve‘s overnight cut, which took the rate to a range of 4 to 4.25 per cent.
“The property market’s atmosphere has been improving as we keep seeing investors entering the market snapping up projects with multiple units,” said Alan Li, senior consultant at Habitat Property. He pointed out that investors preferred projects in which developers have slashed prices to clear their inventory.
Li said Deep Water Pavilia set an example of how developers are determined to achieve a high sell-through rate within a short amount of time, as units at the project were priced around 30 per cent lower than the initial batch that went on sale in Southland – the first phase of Wong Chuk Hang’s Southside residential neighbourhood, which launched in April 2021 at HK$29,689 per square foot.
Flats under construction at Deep Water Pavilia, developed by a consortium led by MTR Corp and New World Development. Photo: Handout alt=Flats under construction at Deep Water Pavilia, developed by a consortium led by MTR Corp and New World Development. Photo: Handout>
That discounted pricing also undercut all of the completed projects in the area, according to data compiled by property agencies.
A Hong Kong-listed company, Get Nice Holdings, said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it bought 10 flats from vendor MTR Corp at Deep Water Pavilia II for a total of HK$109 million on September 12.
On Friday, NWD sold 115 of the 120 units on offer at its House Muse project in Kowloon City after it priced these units at HK$18,251 per square foot after discounts.
To cater to investors, the developer offered a “three-bedroom package” promotion. Those who bought a three-bedroom unit plus a one-bedroom flat received a HK$300,000 discount. That slashed the price of a one-bedroom unit to as low as HK$3.5 million.
Recent secondary transaction prices at some newly completed projects, meanwhile, have been adjusted upwards, according to agents. That helped boost potential homebuyers’ confidence that prices might not drop further.
A 457 sq ft two-bedroom unit at Sun Hung Kai Properties‘ Cullinan Sky project in Kai Tak recently sold for HK$11.5 million, up 18 per cent from the HK$9.7 million price paid by the owner last October.
The developer priced the first batch of units on offer at Cullinan Sky Phase 1 at HK$19,668 per square foot on average, about 20 per cent lower than the stock in new projects in the same area in September, according to Midland Realty.
“Hong Kong property prices have bottomed out,” said Raymond Cheng, an independent property analyst. “With more rate cuts ahead, strong stock market performance, continued influx of mainlanders and high rental yield, expect home prices to register some 3 to 5 per cent upside in 2026.”
With universities in the city allowed to accept 50 per cent non-local students, this development could attract investment purchases as well as trigger higher rental rates, according to Cheng.
