Discover the 11-bedroom, 8-bathroom family home in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, that is currently on the market for US$281 million. It has views of the ocean and mountains.
This Repulse Bay home has been listed for US$281 million by a developer in Hong Kong, despite recent difficulties in the luxury housing market. What does it look like?
In the past, the city has commanded some record-breaking real estate prices, drawing Chinese billionaires like Jack Ma of Alibaba and Pony Ma of Tencent, as well as local tycoons like Li Ka-Shing.
At a time when the market for luxury homes is experiencing difficult conditions, a developer is attempting to sell a massive mansion in Hong Kong for HK$2.2 billion (US$281 million), a figure that would place the property among the most expensive sales in the city.
The 18,270 square foot home in the affluent Repulse Bay neighborhood of the city was finished just over four years ago before widespread demonstrations and the economic shutdown slowed down real estate purchases. The structure, which is situated between two streets, contains eight bathrooms, eight bedrooms, and a terrace.
According to government records, the location, which was formerly home to a five-story apartment building, was purchased by local real estate company First Group Holdings in 2014 for HK$350 million before being renovated.
As one of the brokers for the house, Victoria Allan, the creator of Habitat Property, noted, “The pricing is high given the current market conditions being soft.” Due to the difficulty in moving money out of China, any mainland buyer would probably need to reside in a city, she said.
Nevertheless, she insisted that the house would eventually find a new owner and would command a high price because of its unique size and desirable location.
The mansion was built in a previous age when affluent mainland purchasers, notably Jack Ma of Alibaba and Pony Ma of Tencent, flooded the city in search of trophy mansions, boosting the luxury property market.
Homes in the most affluent sections of the city sold for record sums. A residence in the nearby Deep Water Bay neighborhood, which is home to several Hong Kong billionaires like Li Ka-Shing, was purchased by former mainland real estate billionaire Pan Sutong in 2017 for HK$2.5 billion.
Since then, a lot has changed in the scenario. Chinese capital is no longer pouring into the real estate market in Hong Kong as a result of China’s crackdowns on private businesses, stricter regulations on capital leaving the mainland, and an economic slowdown.
Instead, the market is seeing an increase in supply as a result of forced sales and a surge of houses that were seized from struggling mainland real estate moguls. Additionally, rising interest rates increase the cost of borrowing.
According to the real estate agency Centaline, used home prices have dropped 13% from their 2021 top and are currently at levels first seen at the start of 2018.
After the opulent Repulse Bay Hotel was inaugurated by the Kadoorie family in 1920, the region initially gained notoriety. In 1982, the hotel was demolished. Repulse Bay, which is about 20 minutes from the financial sector, is today a wealthy neighborhood made up primarily of high- and low-rise flat blocks constructed on slopes above one of the city’s busiest beaches.
Wheelock and Co. chairman Douglas Woo paid roughly HK$60 million for a three-bedroom apartment in the neighborhood this year, and Jean Eric Salata, CEO of Baring Private Equity Asia, reportedly paid HK$3.6 billion for a six-house development on Deep Water Bay Road.