Hong Kong’s Mansion Sale Price Could Set New Asia Record

A buyer from mainland China is offering HK$1.2 billion ($153 million) for a mansion in Hong Kong’s Peak area, a sign of the city’s rebounding property market after it reopened to the world.

If completed, the deal would mark a new Asia record for price per square foot, at HK$255,000, beating the HK$140,800 set in 2021 when an apartment at the Mount Nicholson project was sold. The four-story property is located at No. 45 Barker Road, with a total floor area of 4,700 square feet (437 square meters).

CSI Properties Ltd. acquired the site for HK$200 million in 2011, and paid another HK$103.2 million in land premium four years later when it rebuilt. The new mansion keeps some features from the original heritage building, formerly owned by Hong Kong businessman Haking Wong.

Hong Kong’s Peak is a luxurious residential neighborhood where many of the city’s richest tycoons own homes. Billionaires Lee Shau Kee and Jack Ma have mansions in the area. Real estate prices in Hong Kong slumped the most in years in 2022, hurt by rising interest rates and a weakening economy. Still, the Asian financial hub remained the world’s least affordable housing market, a distinction it has held for more than a decade.

The Hong Kong government has cut quarantine requirements and a mask rule that impaired the city’s attractiveness as a business center. Art Basel and a wealth summit for global family offices are taking place in the city, attracting rich people to the hub.