With the “exceptionally cheap” sale of a vacant Hong Kong shopping mall, developer CK Asset Holdings is freeing up capital for other projects, while the buyer will have to be patient because the location will struggle to attract tenants in the short term, according to analysts.
The developer completed the mall in its residential project Seaside Sonata on Hai Tan Street in Sham Shui Po five years ago but never leased it out. It recently changed hands along with a batch of parking spaces for HK$179.77 million (US$23 million), according to Land Registry records. The price per square foot for the retail portion was HK$2,996, analysts said.
Midland Commercial said that the decline in commercial and industrial property prices in the city had created new entry opportunities for investors and end users, while giving some owners a chance to restructure their property portfolios.