Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong

Well, if we could accurately predict the future we of course would all be retired millionaires by now. But I think a very basic question Hong Kong property investors have to be asking themselves is what is the outlook for Hong Kong property prices in 2015.  On the one hand we have strong demand for property, and very low interest rates. On the other hand we have cooling measures in place, the possibility of interest rates rising, and among other things, political unrest in Hong Kong due to the Occupy Central movement, and the desire of many Hong Kong citizens for true democracy. If I had to make a guess I would think that overall, prices will keep rising in 2015 in Hong Kong. I can't see interest rates rising at all until late 2015, and even then they will rise only very very slightly, if at all. Property cooling measures are very unlikely to be increased, and they are more and more being "priced in" which means that eventually, when they are removed, the remova...

There is currently a proposal for a new bus connection to Mongkok being considered. If you support this proposal, please do attend the meeting on 19th August 2014. If you are unable to make it please express your support by sending an email or fax, noting your apartment address.

I heard an interesting item of news this week, being that CLP is considering building an electric car station on Ma Wan. Apparently a bunch of Government-type folks with notepads, maps, cameras etc were on the Ma Wan recently considering a site. If anyone has any more details on this please post it here or let me know. I know residents of Park Island have proposed electric cars for Park Island as an option from time to time (and personally I would support this). I wrote to the Transport Department asking for any information, and got little more than a "The case is currently under study, and will reply to you as soon as possible" response. Hong Kong Electric Vehicle Charging Station

A few people have emailed me noting that according to the Centa-City Hong Kong Property Index, Park Island was the largest gainer in terms of price increase over the last month. I have checked to confirm this and it seems to be correct. Here is a snapshot of the overall Hong Kong Property market price graph: CCI Hong Kong Property Index And here is the data for Park Island property prices: As we can see, Park Island prices jumped a massive 16.02% over the last month. Transactions for Park Island are at a yearly high for the month of July already (according to agents I have spoken to), and July is of course still has a few weeks to go, so it seems July will have the largest volume of monthly transactions over the last year. Basically what has happened is that the standoff between sellers who refused to reduce prices in light of cooling measures and increased stamp duty, and buyers who refuse to buy due to these increased transactions costs, has ended. Buyers, it seems ha...

Many Park Island residents have heard, "from someone who heard", that there might be plans for a luxury resort and marina at the Ma Wan old village. I'm going to provide a little more information on this. It is my understanding that there are indeed plans to build such a resort on Ma Wan, along with quite extensive plans to develop (with appropriate conservation and restoration) the Ma Wan old village. The development of the resort and old village are scheduled, at this stage, to take place between 2016 -2019. I will provide more details in due course, but for now I wanted to show you where the resort will be. Location of proposed luxury resort and marina on Ma Wan The location marked with the red star is the area where Government approval has been given for the development of the resort. Apparently, approval requires the resort to have no more than 400 rooms, and requires, among other things, the developer to provide "sufficient road transport ...

The iconic Tsing Ma Bridge, which can be viewed from Park Island, Ma Wan, is the longest bridge ever built in Hong Kong.  The Bridge has a centre span of 1,377 meters and crosses the marine channel between Ma Wan and Tsing Yi.  The main cables supporting the Bridge were made up of some 27,000 tonnes of steel wires. The total length of these wires is sufficient to stretch round the world 4 times. The Tsing Ma Bridge forms a major part of the essential link in the expressway and airport railway connecting the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok.  On Tsing Yi, the Bridge links directly to an interchange with connections to the urban districts and, via the Ting Kau Bridge, to the Northwest New Territories. On Ma Wan, high level viaducts extend from the Ma Wan end of the Bridge and cross the island to connect directly with the Kap Shiu Mun Bridge across the Kap Shui Mun channel. The Tsing Ma Bridge Tsing Ma Bridge

1600 pandas had a great time on the beach of Park Island / Ma Wan recently, and were warmly welcomed by Park Island residents. The pandas, created by French artist Paulo Grangeon in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature, are a protest work from the artist about the dwindling panda population. Each paper panda represents a real panda. In 2004, the WWF estimated that only 1,600 pandas inhabit the planet and that the species is endangered.  The pandas have already visited France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan as part of a world tour. Their arrival in Hong Kong brings them closer to the natural home of real pandas, in the bamboo forests of western China.  Here's a nice little video of the  1600 pandas arriving in Hong Kong . Below are a few photos of the pandas on the beach at Park Island. Pandas enjoying the beach at Ma Wan Park Island residents welcome 1600 pandas who came for a visit...