Buying Spree

October 16, 2006

As we expected, the high end sales market saw more activities and among them, some were sizeable transactions. The rate fear subsided and buyers were lured back into the luxury property market on the back of a robust stock market.

In terms of transactions, Midlevels was leading the pack and Midlevels Central was particularly outstanding, with many properties above $20,000,000 changed hands. The Southside trailed behind, but sales price paled as many of the transactions were in smaller category. It is noteworthy that in the recent buying spree, expatriate buyers were very prominent. In many of the sales, the buyers were foreign nationals who have been living in Hong Kong for some years. These buyers included Europeans, Americans, Australians and Koreans. Of particular interest are the Koreans, who apparently have benefited from the economic growth of South Korea and China and are making presence in this market, over-shadowing their Japanese counterparts.

The stock market frenzy heightened by the IPO of mega corporations like Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have amassed a huge pool of capital in this tiny island. The hot money is to stay for some time as the investment sentiment is most favourable. This will definitely benefit the property market, especially the high end market, as many long term investors will park their wealth in real estates after profit-taking in the stock market.

By Claudia Hui