Interesting data from HK Property Review 2008

Got some time today to catch up on some work-related matters, and flipped through the latest Hong Kong Property Review 2008 released by Rating and Valuation Department.

Of course I wouldn't bore you with the price/rental trends, completion and vacancy data, etc. (in fact you can read that in today's newspaper), but below are a few interesting facts I picked up:

1. 2007 Completion of Private Domestic Units (PDUs) is at a 10-year low at 10,471 units. This compares to 31,052 in 2002, and 35,322 in 1999 (including village houses) ~ remnant effect from poor economic times in early 2000s and a change in land sale policy



2. In 2007, there are NO PDUs completed on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories with a usable area of less than 20 sq m (about 215 sq ft) ~ market demand for units so small is weak, and profits from such small units are also low
   
   
3. In 2007, there are no PDUs of >160 sqm (about1,720 sq ft) completed in the Eastern District, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing, Tuen Mun and Tai Po ~ A little bit surprising for Tai Po and Eastern District



4. There is ONE Private Domestic House located in the whole Eastern District and ONE in Wong Tai Sin, and THREE in Kwai Tsing. Of all the districts, only Kwun Tong does not have even one House ~ would be fun to find out the Houses in Eastern District and Wong Tai Sin



5. Which District has the most number of Houses (as at the end of 2007)? Yuen Long (7,394), Tai Po (2,236), Sai Kung (1,923), and Southern (1,659) ~ wanna be one of the owners of the 16,501 houses in all of Hong Kong?



6. Of 108 units of less than 39.9 sq m (about 430 sq ft) completed in 2007 on Hong Kong Island, 85.2% of those units of are rented out, meaning only 14.8% of those are owner occupied ~ asset appreciation, good yields... have you seen the rents they're asking for these days around Soho and Kennedy Town?



7. Between 1999 and 2007 (based on 1999 prices, same as below), rental prices of small-medium units (less than 100 sqm) have remained almost the same, while that of large units have risen 18% ~ the influx of senior management expats, and expats in general
   
   
8. If compared with 2003 levels, they have risen by 37% and 50%, respectively ~ the rich gets richer



9. Between 1999 and 2007, sale prices of small-medium units have risen by 1.3%, while that of larger units have risen by 43.7% ~ I guess small-medium units prices rose more in the 1997 peak relative to larger units



10. If compared with 2003 levels, they have risen by 66% and 100%, respectively ~ the rich gets even richer

I remember since 2003, I have heard people telling me that if we were to go through something like SARS again (Oh God please don't), they'd be bold and buy up alot of properties... of course easy to say that now ("Cannon after Horse", I hate that)...

Places I think with good investment potential:

Ho Man Tin - with new rail planned and the slow transformation of a traditionally quiet neighbourhood, there is very good potential here. There are a few pockets with some of the most expensive properties in Kowloon... Ho Man Tin Hill, King's Park, Kadoorie Hill. And future focus: Cheung Kong's Tin Kwong Road development, Ex-Village Road Estate site, etc.

Kowloon Station - West Kowloon Cultural District, ICC, MTR Southern Link (linking East and West Rail, Regional Express Line (Hong Kong - Guangzhou). This is what I call "Sky is the limit".

Hung Hom - Self-sustained community, new rail link, ample housing stock with many choices.

Western District (Sai Ying Pun - Kennedy Town) - Probably the most promising area on Hong Kong Island. New rail link, many redevelopment projects and proximity to Central. Can't beat that.