Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong

The latest edition of Park Island Magazine reports that the Transport Apartment on 15 March 2011 has finally agreed to extend taxi access to Ma Wan (the island on which the Park Island estate is built on). Having been built as an "eco friendly" development, car access to the island has always been controversial, but it seems a practical balance has been reached. The following arrangement with regard to taxi cars will now take effect from 1 January 2012: Monday to Friday - taxi entry permitted from 10am right through to 7am the next morning (ie only hours not permitted at 7am -10am). Saturday, Sunday, and Public holidays - taxi entry permitted from 8pm right through to 7am the next morning (ie hours not permitted are from 7am - 8pm. To me, this seems a move in the right direction. To get to work in the morning, most people will still use a bus, shuttle to MTR, or take ferry to Central or Tsuen Wan. But after work, the option of taking a taxi home now is a lot more viable. ...

Yes, finally after a strangely long winter in HK, we finally have warm sunny weather. I spent the weekend on the beach, with a cold beer (or 2) reading, sleeping, and swimming. The beach cafes and bars seemed to be doing a roaring trade. I had dinner at the German bar and restaurant called Oma's Kitchen (Grandma's Kitchen), which serves excellent traditional German food as well as German brewed beer. I luckily got a lovely outdoor table, but I noticed many people turning up to find the place was packed out and fully booked. The tables on the beach are especially popular, so if you plan to come on the weekends, you better make a reservation. My meal consisted of a selection of German sausages, an authentic German pig knuckle, sour-kraut, mashed potatoes, and apple strudel for desert. I am a fussy eater, and I rate the meal and overall experience as a 8.5/10 which from me is a strong endorsement. (Oh any my choice of beer was the Erdinger Dunkelbier). Its just a wonderful feeli...

I recently met Frederik, who has lived on Park Island for many years, and claims to be "the first expat on Ma Wan". I asked him to respond to a few questions for my blog. Here is our conversation: -Were you really the first ex-pat on Park Island? Yes, I really think so. I came here just when the first phase was completed. It was at stage where I would still get people looking at me just because I was a foreigner. That no longer happens, but it was fun at first being special like that. -How did you end up choosing Park Island to live? I was sent to HK to work for a Danish shipping company. I came to HK not with specific ideas about where to live. Most ex-pats come here and live in Mid Levels, Happy Valley, Discovery Bay. I did not know about areas, so I looked more on the map to see what could be suitable. For many Europeans, we really need clean air and open spaces, so that played a big part. Back then, the rents were also very cheap at Park Island. I liked the facilities, ...

Not all of my posts will be related to property prices, but obviously rental and sales prices are always a topic of interest. Last week, an apartment of approx 1500 square foot, with a large rooftop and absolute ocean views rented for $67K a month. I am familiar with these types of apartments. They are either approx 1500 sqf with internal steps up to a private rooftop, approx 1500 sqf which opens up to a very large balcony. Two or three years ago you could rent them for around 25-28K. Last year the price range was aroud 30-35K. This year, in my opinion, they are still available in the 40-45K range. So the news that one rented for 67K was really quite interesting to me. I found out a little more about the apartment and its new tenant. First the apartment - it is nicely rennovated, modern style, suitable for the taste of a typical Westerner ex-pat. The rooftop also has some nice additions - large pot plants, some outdoor furniture etc. So this shows, that spending a bit on Western tast...

I was sent an email today by a reader of my blog who wants to buy an apartment on Park Island and is finding that every apartment for sale is at a minimum 15-20% above the valuation offered by banks for mortgage purposes. My advice to him, was that this phenomenon is not only something that happens on Park Island. In Hong Kong, in a "rising market" it is in fact the norm that when you buy a place it will usually be at a price 10-15% above bank val. There are many reasons for this, but basically the banks are somewhat conservative, and also use valuation figures of transactions that closed 2-3 months ago. Since I have been in HK since 1997, its always been that way. The potential buyer was looking at an apartment offered at 5 million for 712 square foot. He told me that HSBC values it at 4.4m and Bank Of China values it at 4.52m, and wanted to know if 5m was a "fair price". My advice on this is as follows: Some “local banks” will give it a slightly higher valuatio...

I read in the newspaper today that Ricacorp expects demand for Park Island apartments to rise, especially from expats. The head of research at Ricacorp expects rents to increase 2% per month over the next year. Property agents also are reporting strong demand and enquiries from potential Japanese tenants who are increasingly viewing Hong Kong as an alternative to living in Japan.

Many people think only of the modern Park Island development when they hear of Ma Wan island. There is also the "local village" which consists of newly built houses for the locals who lived on Ma Wan before it was sold to Sun Hung Kai who developed Park Island. There is however a lesser known part of Ma Wan, which is the original village (sometimes referred to as the "old village). It has mostly been abandoned now, and it will sooner or later be developed by Sun Hung Kai. Most people say it will be a high end hotel resort managed by Shangri La, possibly with a marina, but I am not sure if the plans are finalized. Others have speculated that a private car-park for Park Island residents might be built on part of this land. If anyone knows exactly what is being planned for the old Ma Wan village, please do let me know. I went exploring today, and took a few photos: Ma Wan Villiage In this pic you can see some of the old buildings in the old village that have not yet...