Friday 29 Mar 2024
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PETALING JAYA (July 9): A car park bay in a posh Hong Kong high-rise home was sold for HK$6 million (RM3.1 million) – setting a new benchmark price for parking space in the city, which is facing a looming shortage as car ownership surges while supply of these spots stagnate, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP).

A Hong Kong pair paid the record-breaking sum for the bay at Sun Hung Kai Properties’ luxurious Ultima apartment complex in Kowloon, a relative pittance compared to the price a 1,911 sq ft four-bedroom unit in the development which now goes for HK$98 million (RM50.53 million).

“The development is in a luxury residential area. The residents have a lot of cash and simply do not care about a few million dollars when a flat there costs about HK$100 million. Their convenience is more important,” said Centaline Property Agency director Sandia Lau.

The transaction gave the vendors – a local couple who bought the lot in September last year – a fat profit of HK$2.6 million (RM1.34 million).

According to Land Registry data, the buyers were Jack Chan Siu-kit and Cheung Tsui-ling.

Chan is the chairman and executive director of Pan Pacific Financial Holdings, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua and the Internet Professional Association, although no records of the company exists at the Companies Registry or the public register of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, said SCMP.

Chan and Cheung are also founders of the non-governmental organisation Chinese Youth Dreamers Foundation.

The lot’s psf price of HK$44,444 (RM22,916.35) exceeds that of the average residential property price in Hong Kong, which according to property consultancy JLL stands at HK$15,600 (RM8,043.81) across the city and HK$16,350 (RM8,430.53).

In an interview with Bloomberg, classic car collector Darrin Woo had described the transaction as “crazy”.

“Buy a space? No way. I could buy five cars for that much,” he said.

The astronomical cost of parking space in Hong Kong, which averages HK$2.25 million (RM1.16 million) per bay, has prompted him to ship his 1968 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman limousine and 1957 Fiat Abarth to California for storage.

Average prices have risen more than sixfold since 2006 as supply of spaces cannot keep up with cars coming onto the road – private car ownership jumped by 49% to 536,025 from 2006 to the end of 2016, according to Hong Kong’s Transport Department, while the number of parking bays only grew by 9.5% to 743,000 during the same period.

This is compounded by speculators who see parking lots as alternative real estate investments, as it only attracts a 3% stamp duty compared with the 30% levied on home purchases – and this excludes the 15% tax for disposing of a property within a year.

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