Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong

Transactions were again been low over the last month, which is not good news for Park Island Real estate agents who make the bulk of their money on property sales. Prices of those properties that did sell last month however again hit absolute record highs. Over the weekend, Sun Hung Kai sold all of its first 50 apartments in its The Wings development at Tseung Kwan O, with a penthouse selling for HKD $20,000 per square foot. Agents I have spoken to think these good sales results will likely lead to higher prices for Park Island, although they don't see a big pickup in sales transactions happening until the recent stock market volatility starts to show signs of stabilization.

Recently there has been talk of an MTR station at Park Island. It seems MTR Corporation may soon conduct a feasibility study into providing an MTR station at Park Island. Primary factors, I would think, are customer demand and profitability, and also whether a station is physically possible to build. See here for the proposed location of the Park Island MTR station: Location of station . Both the Airport Express and the Tung Chung line go though Tsing Ma Bridge above Ma Wan so the proposal seems to be building a platform on Tsing Ma Bridge and then building a ststation with a lift up and down to the train line. My feeling is that both Ma Wan residents, and Hong Kong residents in general would overwhelmingly support having an MTR station at Ma Wan. Whether it would be profitable I am not sure. I presume MTR would have a financial model that calculates not just trips to and from Ma Wan, but also the increased use that residents would make of the MTR network as a whole, as well as lik

Stock markets have been very volitile, and further there will apparently be an announcement on Wednesday about the HK Government providing some more low cost housing for people on lower incomes. Agents tell me that property sales transactions have been very low over the last month, although the very few that did take place seem to have been at "record prices". There have however been more people renting, and it seems the standard asking price is now $20 per square foot, per month.

There was a strong typhoon that hit Hong Kong today. It was very windy on Park Island, and the typhoon weather in Hong Kong caused damage across the city. On Park Island the damage was relatively minor. I captured some photos of Hong Kong during a typhoon below: Some minor damage to a plant. Typhoon damage in Kong Kong A tree was blown over at the Ma Wan beach on Park Island. The smell of a freshly collapsed tree is really nice by the way!  A man swimming during a typhoon  A Ma Wan resident decides to go swimming during the typhoon. Probably not such a good idea... Various potted plant were blown over. Heavy rain gets blown across the Park Island estate. The palm trees seem to survive the gale fore winds though :) Waves crash up against the Park Island surf club-house. Not a single lifeguard in sight by the way, despite one brave (stupid?) soul swimming. The effect of a typhoon on beaches Some parts of the beach on Ma Wan were washed away. If you look clo

Its been a nice summer for people living on Park Island, but I noticed today that when I got into the outdoor pool at Blue Blue, rather than being a nice "Ahhhhhhhh" kind of feeling due to the water having been nicely warmed by the sun, it was more like an "Arrrgggggg" feeling as I realized it was actually a little chilly! Well, maybe chilly is an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. The benefit though was that I did enjoy having a nice steamy sauna afterwards :)

The restaurants on Park Island seem to be doing really well. I noticed that all the popular ones along the beach, both at beach level, and the new Japanese one at the level above the beach have been packed lately. Having spoken to a few of the owners, all are pleasently suprised as the "average spend". Pacific Coffee is also almost always full too. Good to see everyone doing so well. Let's hope Sun Hun Kai do not put up the rent on them all too much when renewals come up!

Where to live in HK? Its a question that is asked by any expat moving to Hong Kong, and indeed also by people already living in HK. When you are first moving HK, you will find everyone has an "opinion". Some will tell you Mid Levels is best, others will tell you Happy Valley is best, and others love Discovery Bay. Park Island, is not as well known as these locations, but as I was having my morning swim today, under the warm sun as it was rising, I thought to myself - "I am SO HAPPY I live here!". As I was swimming, I made a mental list of the top 10 things I like about Park Island: - Good air quality. - Peaceful at night. - No traffic noise. - Great fitness facilities. - Nice clean lobbies, lifts, common areas, and high quality apartment buildings. - Dog friendly (as I like dogs). - Child friendly (great if you have active boys that need outdoors to run around and play). - Surrounded by beaches (I am a "beach person". I love morning and evening beach w