Housing prices across the state continue to rise. While there are monthly fluctuations, the long term trend is definitely toward higher prices. But there are some locations where the cost of real estate has spiked even more—including an Asian location that set a new record this week. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
Three billion U.S. dollars may sound like a lot to pay for a parking lot.
But that’s exactly what happened this week in Hong Kong.
Okay—it’s a five-story parking lot—since it’s in Hong Kong you can call it a “car park” if you like.
It is in the central business district of the world’s most expensive market for commercial buildings.
And the price is not exactly about the parking spaces.
Henderson Land Development bought the commercial plot to redevelop it as an office building.
Still, with a bit more than 465,000 square feet to work with, that breaks down to more than $6,400 a square foot—a new record for Hong Kong.
Office real estate and residential real estate are very separate markets, but in Hong Kong both are at high levels especially commercial real estate.
The Financial Times reports office prices in Hong Kong are 75 percent higher than in New York which is the second most expensive market in the world for commercial real estate.
And on the supply side, available space is not exactly an everyday occurrence in Hong Kong.
In fact, this was the first commercial sale in the city’s district of Central since Britain gave up Hong Kong as a colony twenty years ago.
