Rare Repulse Bay site up for tender

Victor Zhong

The government plans to launch two residential sites, involving 210 flats, through tender from October to December.

The two lands are in Tai Po and Repulse Bay, Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun said yesterday.

Luxury lot RBL 1203, on South Bay Road in Repulse Bay, covers 21,097 square feet, according to Centaline Surveyors director James Cheung King-tat.

It has a buildable floor area of around 18,987 sq ft and is expected to good for three to four houses.

The site formation cost is likely high as it sits close to the mountain, said Cheung.

The total valuation is around HK$1.33 billion or HK$70,000 per sq ft.

Alkan Au, senior director of the valuation department at JLL in Hong Kong, said the transaction price for the houses in the area is already above HK$ 100,000 psf and it is rare to see a residential site in Repulse Bay up for government tender.

The previous site sold in Repulse Bay was No 92 Repulse Bay Road in 2020.

It sold for HK$550 million, or about HKD 73,000 per sq ft of the floor area, said Au.

He said the site in Tai Po - measuring 150,696 sq ft - is expected to have a buildable floor area of roughly 226,044 sq ft, with the low-density residential projects nearby. The lot, which is evaluated at HK$1.13 billion or HK$5,000 psf, is expected to attract small-to-medium developers with an eye on low-density luxury units.

Wong said the Urban Renewal Authority's Hung Fook Street-Ngan Hon Street Development Scheme in To Kwa Wan, which will accommodate around 750 households, will also boost the quarterly private units supply. The project has attracted 36 expressions of interest when the invitation for submission closed.

With 12 private housing projects offering around 6,150 flats, the quarterly private units supply is expected to be around 7,110 for the quarter - the highest in recent years, said Wong.

To that end, the combined land supply in the first three-quarters of the fiscal year is expected to touch 14,430, which is 10 percent higher than the expectation, said Wong. He added that the year-round supply is estimated to be 17,000 units, 30 percent more than the target figure.

The government's latest land sale plan indicates that the problem of insufficient supply has intensified, with a greater reliance on the railway and URA projects, said Au.

"The situation will continue for the next two to three years," Au said. "The fresh supply of residential homes three years later will also be impacted."

For the commercial end, Wong said the bidding result of Site 3 of the New Central Harbourfront will be revealed in mid-November and the government may consider adjusting the terms of the commercial site in Tung Chung Town lot No 45 at area 57 after a previous tender failure.

victor.zhong@singtaonewscorp.com