It had been valued at about HK$245 million based on a gross floor area of 81,666 square feet, which translates to HK$3,000 per sq ft, Midland Surveyors estimated.

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Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?

Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?

“The bid was submitted in a conservative manner and the transaction also reflected the government’s flexibility in selling the parcel in line with the current market conditions,” Midland said in a research note after the land sale on Wednesday.

The land parcel will accommodate low-rise and low-density town houses that are expected to be sold for between HK$13,000 and HK$14,000 per sq ft, which is close to the price level of neighbouring developments built in 2015, said Alex Leung, senior director at CHFT Advisory and Appraisal.

Hong Kong economy, property market eagerly await lower rates next year

The final price for the site is 87 per cent lower than the record set in the area by Guangzhou-based Agile Property Holdings which bought a parcel of land in 2017 for HK$19,667 per sq ft, according to Leung.

Last Thursday, a consortium led by Sino Land won the right to develop a plot in Ma Tau Wai from the Urban Renewal Authority (URA).

The bid displayed the group’s confidence in a location that is highly sought after by other developers, according to Sino Land’s deputy chairman, Daryl Ng.

The company, along with China Merchants Land and Great Eagle Holdings, beat five other developers with a winning bid of HK$1.93 billion for the site on Shing Tak Street, which will yield 414,900 sq ft of space, including 345,500 sq ft of residential floor area, according to an­nouncements by Sino Land and the URA.

Ng said in a statement at the time that the prime site was an excellent addition to the company’s land bank, and that Sino Land was committed to Hong Kong and China, and full of confidence in both economies.

A total of 10 projects were launched by the government, the MTR Corporation, and the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) between January and November this year.

Only four of them – three residential sites and a commercial parcel – drew enough bids for the tender process to continue.

Lived-in home prices in Hong Kong recorded a 19 per cent fall in October compared to their peak in September 2021, according to the latest data released by the Rating and Valuation Department.

That month saw the lowest sales volume of the year for homes in the secondary market, at 1,917.