Three luxury Hong Kong homes changed hands this week for between HK$49.4 million (US$6.36 million) and HK$114 million, an indication that well-heeled buyers have returned to the market for exclusive addresses as interest rates come down.
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Sebastian Paredes, the CEO of DBS Bank (Hong Kong), paid HK$49.4 million for a 1,249 sq ft, three-bedroom flat at The Aster in Happy Valley, according to Land Registry records. The purchase price was more than twice what the previous owner paid for the property in 2011.
Nicolas Moreau, HSBC’s global asset-management CEO, bought a 2,041 sq ft luxury flat in Century Tower in Mid-Levels for HK$50 million. In 1999, the last time it was on the market, the property was valued at HK$14.8 million, records show.
Meanwhile, Ngai Lun Limited registered as the buyer of a 3,335 sq ft flat in Grenville House – also in Mid-Levels – for HK$114 million. Zhang Jinglin, a Hong Kong ID holder, was registered as director of Ngai Lun, according to official documents. The property previously sold for HK$90 million in 2012.
The sales were registered a week after the policy address of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who unveiled several measures to support the property market. That included the easing of mortgage financing as well as allowing investments in residential properties with a transaction value of no less than HK$50 million to be counted in the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES).
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The scheme was reintroduced in March after having been suspended in 2015 as property purchases by the new migrants helped to send home prices surging.