Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong

This article is a nice read:  In love with a falling city I wonder how others feel and reflect on the past 10 years in Hong Kong. My feelings are mixed, but I believe better days are ahead. Hong Kong is in a very special and unique position, both its place in Asia and with regard to its status and relationship with China.

It used to be relatively accepted thinking that Hong Kong would never get a casino as "the Jockey Club has a monopoly on gambling in Hong Kong". And historically, and before China yielded a greater influence over Hong Kong this was pretty much a given. Indeed, the HKJC was (and still is) a strong lobbyist against any form of competition, and was (and still is) backed by many people of power and influence from the pre-1997 colonial era. Hong Kong already has "floating casino boats", and many Hong Kong citizens these days simply gamble on-line, or through more traditional Chinese triad associated shadow "gambling facilitators" (who take bets, lend money, pay out money, and when needed, collect money via various methods). And right next to Hong Kong we of course have the gambling mecca of Asia, Macau (where many casino companies are actually listed in Hong Kong, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ("HKSE") including Sands China, Galaxy ...

With Ocean all around Ma Wan, and with many of the residents having ocean view apartments, its no surprise that we have a great collection of photos capturing the view across the ocean. Here are some of the photos I like best.:

The SCMP reported here as to  Why was Ma Wan Park Built? Sooner or later it will be replaced with something far more usable I believe. Either a proper park without fake animal statues, or maybe a car park for Park Island residents.

Here's where we ended up as we head to the close of 2016. Park Island Property Prices 2016 Prices rocketed up in the latter part of 2016 to hit new highs, primarily on buyers continuing to see the great value Park Island offers. We are now at an average price of over $11,000 psf net, and over $8,500 psf gross. The attached graph shows gross prices. What is the difference between gross and net property prices in HK?  The "saleable area", or "net area", is the actual size of a home, including balconies. The gross price is the floor area which includes both the saleable area plus a share of the common areas, bay windows and facilities). So, if you are looking purely at a measure of internal space for property in HK, go by the net area (aka saleable area). See here for a more detailed explanation:  Gross sqft vs Net sqft SCMP article . Readers may be interested to see how where we ended in 2016 compared to my predictions and forecasted  extrapola...

Based on the latest Hong Kong property data  Centadata property price graph  Hong Kong property prices continued their upward climb, heading towards all time historical highs. Hong Kong Property Price Graph Nov 2016 Park Island apartment prices rose over 6% last week and are now also again approaching historical highs. Park Island Property Price Graph Nov 2016 It is very obvious that were not for the recent additional "cooling measures" implemented 5 November 2016 (see New HK Stamp duty for property ) prices would have reached absolute new highs by end of 2016.  It now remains to be see what effect the recent cooling measures, as well as the effect of the election of Donald Trump on HK Property. As I have explained in prior posts, from a valuation perspective, I would look at HK property as incorporating the value of every type of cooling measure, which will be "realized" on any eventual reduction of such measures. I would expect to see som...

The calculation of stamp duty when buying HK property is something many people are confused about. I was asked about this some time ago, and there was also a recent comment on this topic on my Park Island blog topic:  What will HK property prices do  suggesting that the current tax system on HK property made Park Island quite desirable in terms of value for money. I'll try to provide a guide to HK property stamp duty in a simple way for readers. First, you need to look at the value of the HK property you are buying.  Below are the stamp duties to pay on buying Hong Kong property. Legally, its the buyer who pays, although you can negotiate for the seller to cover some or all of it, but as far as the HK Inland Revenue Department is concerned the buyer must pay it: Amount or value of the consideration Rate Exceeds Does not exceed $2,000,000 1.5% $2,000,000 $2,176,470 $30,000 + 20% of excess over $2,000,000 $2,176,470 ...