Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong

Just discovered these Park Island websites: A website about Park Island: http://mawanhk.weebly.com/index.html . Here is how the site is described: We have a small community here on Ma Wan and the sites aim is to keep you up to date with what is happening on the Island, what is available, group activities and the Island news. It's early days. We'll keep building the site and hope you find it useful. If you would like us to post any items regarding Ma Wan feel free to contact us. They have quite a good list of some of the restaurant on Park Island here: http://mawanhk.weebly.com/island-resturants.html

I spoke to an agent on Saturday evening, who told me that so far this weekend they have been very busy. Apparently they have had a real pick up in interest for people looking to rent on Park Island. Apparently there is an entire circle of expats whose kids go to one of the international schools, who have decided one by one that Park Island is an ideal place to live. (I wonder if they know about the Park Island snake! lol). I asked the agent what price per square foot the current rentals were being signed at, and he told me around $19-$20 per square foot, which sounds about right, but that he thinks by next year all rentals will be over $20 per square foot. Most people looking apparently find Park Island very good value compared to HK island, where they are being squeezed on rental renewals. He also told me there has been a steady number of people looking to buy on Park Island, but not many actual sales are actually closed, as while people remain interested, the current financial voli

A snake was spotted on Park Island. Quite a big deal apparently. Police were called, and a "snake expert" was brought in to capture the snake. Here's a photo of the poor little guy... The snake is obviously terrified. Hopefully he was captured and released somewhere nice rather than being killed. What's the bet we see Park Island management erect a "No Snakes Allowed" sign :)

A Hong Kong construction site There are still around 100 village houses under construction, on Ma Wan, apparently. Here is a photo of some of them under construction. The construction process seems to be well planned and orderly (quite the opposite to the usual chaos that you see when village houses are constructed). The reason for this is that the entire Ma Wan village was planned and is being built by Sun Hun Kai, who under an agreement with the villagers agreed to provide a certain number of houses for them. And in case anyone is worried, the villagers (or indeed anyone who lives in these houses) will not be able to use the Park Island facilities such as the pools and gym etc. Only Park Island residents with resident cards can get access to these facilities. The village does have some facilities that anyone the island can use. They have a tennis court (that seems be more often used for soccer), and a large soccer stadium, and also kids play areas. I know some foreigners who a

For anyone wondering how prices are doing on Park Island, I am including the graph below, which is the most recent property price trend for Hong Kong property prices right up to today. For those of you who were hoping for a dip so you can buy, I am sorry to tell you that Park Island apartments hit a new high this month, up 2%. So much for the recent financial turmoil leading to property buying opportunities! Further, so far this year Park Island property prices have outperformed average Hong Kong property prices, Hong Kong island property prices, Kowloon property prices, and also property prices in the New Territories. Park Island Property Prices In the above graph, Park Island prices are in the blue colour, outperforming everything. The blue line below are the average prices for Hong Kong overall. The red line is for property prices in Kowloon. And the pink line is for NT property prices. So what is Park Island outperforming, and continuing to rise even in these recent volatile

A number of long term Park Island residents have remarked to me lately that almost every week they are seeing new ex-pats around. It seems the influx of expats living on Park Island is very noticable to all, and I am sure this trend will continue. Park Island still has a majority Chinese population, but my guess is that the demographics will continuously shift towards a larger percentage of expats over time. Some of the expat residents renting on the island are not to happy about this, with there being an understandable concern that increased demand from expats will lead to increase in Park Island rents. You know those old Chinese people you see each morning doing tai chi in the Piazza? Well, guess what - a local expat has, apparently, joined them. I was told he was recently seen among them, with a sheepish smile on his face, doing morning tai chi exercises with them. And no he was not mocking them - he was serious about it! Good on him I say - maybe he's on to a good thing! As fo

I have heard on quite good authority that a well known Hong Kong singer is in the process of moving to Park Island. I even know which Tower! Let's all not try to stare to much, as I am sure she would like to feel just as relaxed here as the rest of us. And please don't try to snap pics of her by the pool. That's just tacky. I will not say who it is, but keep an eye out for her - you will probably recognize her if you know anything about canto-pop.

The anxiety of the US debt crisis caused mayhem on the world's stock markets last week, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was no exception, dropping nearly 2000 points. The fear of an economic slowdown also apparently affected property sales in Hong Kong, with there being a number of reports of recent buyers of apartments forfeiting deposits and failing to complete purchase agreements for fear that property prices might fall. So called property "experts" in Hong Kong appear divided on whether the recent crisis will have any effect on the continued growth in property prices Hong Kong has seen over the last few years. My own view is that prices are likely to keep rising, after perhaps a month or two of short-term uncertainty. The US Fed said at its last policy meeting that it will keep its benchmark short-term interest rates at close to zero through to at least mid-2013. This ensures continued super-cheap borrowing in HK (due the the HKD peg to the USD), and it means we wil

Here are some photos of a Park Island apartment I came across last night in Block 1. Looks like really nice Balinese style apartment rennovation, that works well in the context of Park Island's relaxing beach lifestyle. A nicely rennovated Park Island apartment

A few days ago, I noticed a police van outside the Blue Blue club. I did not really think much of it, but today I found out what happened. Apparently a women swimming confronted a man who had "patted her bottom" in the indoor pool. The man (a middle aged Chinese male) then moved to the outdoor pool. The woman called the police, complaining of an indecent assault. When the police arrived, she described the culprit as a Chinese man, around 50, wearing swimming shorts. The suspect was spotted, and then exited the pool. You can imagine these scene and "loss of face" as a male resident was surrounded poolside by two or three police officers, 2 life guards, the alleged victim, etc. The male suspect was then taken to the police for questioning. I was not there, so I did not see what occurred, but one theory is that the woman became angry at the man swimming in "her lane" so when the inevitable happened, which was a collision between two swimmers, she pulled t

These photos of the ocean around Ma Wan as viewed from a Park Island apartment were taken by me from the balcony of an apartment where I went for drinks recently. I really enjoy seeing both the large boats across the ocean, the bridge, and the buildings of Hong Kong island in the distance.

Well, summer on the island seems just fine. Everyone is out enjoying the sun, swimming, and tourists are coming over in the weekends to enjoy the beaches. The Indian Restaurant (Moguls I think the name was) near the beach is closing. Word is that is will be replaced by a Japanese restaurant. My view is that if they do really good Japanese food, they will do well. On the other hand though, it is hard to do good Japanese food, so my advice from the new restaurant is that you had better provide great quality food from the outset. If the food's no good, that reputation will quickly spread. On the other hand, if its good, word will also spread and you will have a business that does well. Rumor of the month is that a young couple were caught joining the Ma Wan Ferry mile high club (is there a name for the ocean version of this?) a few weeks ago, on one of the last ferry's coming back to Ma Wan from Central. Apparently the performance continued for quite some time, before a boatsman

Here's the link to the Ma Wan park, which is next to Park Island, in case anyone has not been and wants to visit: http://www.mawanpark.com/eng/home.php There is also information about weddings on Ma Wan, which apparently are quite popular.

Ma Wan Ferry Terminal This photo is taken from the hill around to the left of the Ma Wan Ferry Terminal, near where the Phase 6 Park Island villas are. Not many people go here, except a few local guys who like to go fishing off the rocks. HK island is off in the distance under the bridge. Here is another photo taken from the same spot with the camera point more to the left.

Thank you Cafe Roma :) Pizza and a burger from Cafe Roma

Latest graph here. No signs of a slowing property market on Park Island it seems..

"What's the Hong Kong property market going to do"? That of course is the question everyone wants to know. And if we did know, we could of course all be very rich! No one can predict with 100% accuracy what the market will do. But what we can do with 100% certainty is look at historical data. The graph below shows Park Island apartment prices over the last year. Park Island Property Prices The line in blue is the average price per square foot for Park Island apartments, plotted on a weekly basis over the past year. And line in red is the 12 month moving average line. Those who argue that "the market has turned" will point to the apparent decline in prices for transactions over the last few weeks (as shown by the last dip in the blue line). On the other hand, others will argue that the rate of price increases has been steady and constant over the year (as shown by the constant rise upwards of the red line). My own view is that we are in for continued lo

The views from Park Island Ocean facing apartments to Hong Island are stunning, whether in the morning with the sun rising, in the middle of the day, in the evening with the sun shimmering over the ocean as it sets, and at night. You can also see ships, both large and small, as they move across the ocean and off into the distance. Below are a few photos I captured. You can see HK island in the background.

Pacific Coffee has opened on Park Island! (The photo below is Copyright of "Mark", who posted this on the Park Island Blog earlier today). Pacific Coffee on Park Island The cafe is located in the Park Island Town Square which you walk though just as you get off the ferry. (Is the official name "Shell Square", or am I imagening that?) I must say, the cafe looks really nice, with nice big lounge chairs, and I think it is an excellent edition to the growing number of shops on Park Island. There are some places in HK that I think a Pacific Coffee or a Starbucks should simply not be - Lamma Island is a good example. But for Park Island, and the types of residents we have here I think its fine. I think Pacific Coffee is definately better than Starbucks, but having said that I also think Pacific Coffee is not quite as good as it used to be when it was first established by the ex-pat guy who later sold it (for 200 million I think it was). I will probably keep going

This photo of a typical Park Island lobby will only really be of interest for someone who has not yet been to Park Island but is considering living there. Pretty nice huh? The Park Island lobbies also have nice lounge areas, which can be used if you are waiting for friends to come down from their apartments and join you downstairs, or if you want to enjoy a bit of aircon before going into the lift. The lifts themselves are modern and fast.

There is a facebook Group for Park Island, called "The Ma Wan Network". It looks like it well become a great resource for Park Island expats, and the Ma Wan community in general. Take a look at the current group members, which seems to quite accurately changing profile of Park Island residents currently underway. The stated aim of the Park Island facebook group is "to keep you up to date with what is happening on the island, what is available on Ma Wan, group activities and Park Island news". Details: Name - The Ma Wan Network. Email - MaWan@groups.facebook.com. Website - http://www.facebook.com/groups/MaWan

Its always interesting to see what blog pages were most popular over the last week, based on the data provided by blogger.com. Last week, this page received the most hits of all pages on the Park Island website: http://parkislandhongkong.blogspot.com/2011/05/pool-facilities-on-park-island.html Interesting that the temperature in HK has also been at its hottest during this time period :)

"...on a blanket with my Baby - that's where I'll be..." Or at least that where I was until she got bitten by a mosquito :) Here are some pics taken of the bridge the goes over Ma Wan. Most people from Park Island never venture this far across the island, but its actually quite a fun walk.  Under the Tsing Ma Bridge on Ma Wan  Tsing Ma Bridge

Interesting clip here of a person filming how to get to Park Island by ferry.

The original fit-out of the Park Island apartments is pretty good and of a high standard. However, as foreigners start moving in, some are starting to do some really nice rennovations. Below is a picture of one really nice apartment at Park Island, furnished in a style that many foreigners are starting to adopt. A modern kitchen in a Park Island apartment Kitchen with gas cookers A nice kitchen in a Hong Kong apartmrmt A Hong Kong apartment with oven If you like this style of kitchen you can ask your agent to help you find such an apartment if you are looking to rent on Park Island.

One thing I like about cafes in the US, is that a newspaper, once read is "recycled". It is left, usually in a designated place, for other customers to come along and read. I have notice this also happens on the Park Island ferry. There is a luggage rack, in the middle of the ferry, which is usually not used for luggage. Rather, people put used newspapers here, and other people wanting to read them can take it. This is how I get to read my morning newspaper when I travel to HK island in the mornings. Ma Wan Ferry Further, at the end of the day, in line with the environmentally principles of Park Island, all newspapers are gathered up and used for newspaper recycling.

The main beach in Ma Wan is wonderful this time of year. Park Island residents probably like it best keep a "secret", but anyhow here are a few details for anyone who want to come visit. Take the number 2 ferry from central over to Ma Wan. Trip is around 20 minutes. Once off the ferry, walk along the boulevard, and you will find a path the veers off to the left. This will take you down to the beach. If you want to stock up on drinks or snacks you can stop by the Park and Shop or the 7-11 first. There are also other less known beaches on Ma Wan, but to find those you will need to a bit of exploring. Below are some photos. Nice huh? And all at the very doorstep of Park Island residents. I personally start each morning with a 20 minute swim in the ocean. A great and healthy way to start the day! Get off the ferry terminal and walk past the palm trees. Piazaa at Park Island Along the beach Boulevard... Stop and smell the flowers... Flowers on Park Island Follow