Explainer | After Henderson Land’s record bid, here are the 5 other most expensive land sales in Hong Kong
- Henderson Land’s record bid beat out five contenders in the government’s ‘two-envelope’ tender for the harbourfront plot
- Hong Kong – one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world – has consistently set record land sale prices in recent years
Henderson Land Development may have set a record by bidding HK$50.8 billion (US$6.5 billion) for Hong Kong’s most coveted commercial plot in the main business zone of Central, but the city is no stranger to eye-watering land deals.
Henderson Land’s record bid beat out five contenders in the government’s “two-envelope” tender for the harbourfront plot in Central. North of the city’s old General Post Office and next to the International Finance Centre, the plot measures 516,316 sq ft (47,967 square metres), and can yield 1.6 million sq ft in gross floor area.
The bid for Central Site 3 is “an exceptional result considering the complexity of the site, the two-envelope tender and the huge investment sums in terms of the premium and construction costs to follow,” said Rita Wong, head of valuation and consulting for Greater China at real estate firm CBRE. “This is a historic record high lump sum for a single development site in Hong Kong and a mega sum from any investment perspective.”
Before Henderson’s bid, Hong Kong – one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world – has consistently set record land sale prices, with many of the plots forecast to yield around 5 to 6 per cent. Henderson’s Murray Road project is only likely to yield 3 per cent though due to the high price paid, according to Eric Ong, chief operating officer of Midland IC&I and director of Midland Commercial.
After Henderson’s record bid, here are the next five most expensive commercial land bids ever made in Hong Kong, according to information provided by property consultancies CBRE, Colliers, JLL and Knight Frank:
