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1. $20b luxury deals tipped

2. Land-hungry developers tender for Tsuen Wan site

1. $20b luxury deals tipped
Raymond Wang, The Standard 2 October 2004

The value of luxury property transactions in the fourth quarter is expected to leap more than 50 per cent quarter on quarter to HK$20 billion, with prices likely to surge by up to 12 per cent, Ricacorp Properties forecasts.

The combination of a turnaround in the economy, growing consumer confidence and mainland investment has fuelled the property market in the past nine months, with most of the price gains achieved between January and March and levelling off during the summer, the agency said.

Ricacorp Properties director Eric Cheung said luxury property deals in the third quarter fell almost 40 per cent to nearly 1,000 units from 1,558 in the second, while the value of sales plunged 54.3 per cent to HK$13.2 billion.

``Luxury flat prices will rise 8 per cent to 12 per cent in the final quarter of the year and sales are likely to jump 30 per cent to 1,300 units,'' he said.

Luxury flat prices soared more than 20 per cent in the first quarter as sales surged almost 50 per cent against the fourth quarter of last year.

2. Land-hungry developers tender for Tsuen Wan site
Raymond Wang, The Standard 2 October 2004

Major property developers have submitted bids for a low-rise residential development site in Tsuen Wan in a move to refill their land banks in anticipation of a shortage in land supply and a rise in prices.

Locally listed Sun Hung Kai Properties and Sino Land said they had submitted bids, while market sources said Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Henderson Land Development, which were unavailable for comment on Thursday, were also bidders.
Sales agent Jones Lang LaSalle did not disclose the number of bids received when tenders closed Thursday, pending an announcement next week.

In the face of reduced land supply in Hong Kong, developers are hungry to replenish their land banks by offering bids of as much as HK$300 million for the 73,969-square-foot site, sources said.

Developers and surveyors estimated total investment at Yau Kom Tau at more than HK$500 million, including land costs, land premiums and construction costs.

The site is owned by a group of individuals, including the Fung family, which runs a stationery business, and Asia Standard Group.

With a plot ratio of 1.33 times and a height restriction of two storeys, the site could generate total a gross floor area of 98,379 square feet.

But the maximum gross floor area can be raised to 155,335 sqft if developers pay land premiums for a relaxation of the plot ratio to 2.1 times.

Meanwhile, Henderson Land and three other investors have put in offers of between HK$1.3 billion and HK$1.4 billion for a prime commercial site in Central, sources said.

The owner, Beijing-based China Resources, planned to build a 26-storey commercial building made up mainly of retail components to take advantage of the territory's densely populated financial hub. However, the owner said it would sell the site to one of the potential buyers as the highest offer price of nearly HK$1.4 billion, or HK$7,500 per square foot, is very close to its desired price.

The site has attracted four bids from Henderson Land, a listed mid-tier developer and two overseas funds, and negotiations are expected to be concluded later this week.

The 11,000 sqft site at 92 Queen's Road will generate total gross floor area of nearly 200,000 sqft when completed in the first half of 2006.