The nightmare is coming for house’s owners at Redhill Peninsula
2023-9-16
Since typhoon Saola swept through Hong Kong early of this month, rainstorm has fallen for days, causing flooding and landslides across various districts. Among of them, the landslide at the  Redhill Peninsula in the Southern District caused serious of three detached houses. Aftermath this incident, it was revealed that these houses may possess unauthorized building. This disclosed incident once again aroused public attention on the problem of unauthorised structures in detached houses, and relevant government departments have been taking the initial investigative actions against these premises.
Hong Kong's detached house properties are situated in various areas. Most of these properties are in the suburbs areas, and it is common for owners to occupy government land illegally to expand the garden areas. The government seems not to have enough officials to enforce the land lease and prosecute each offender. Therefore, many owners have no fears to rebuild the basements and add more structures on the existing buildings. Those unauthorised incidents such as occupying government land to expand gardens areas are common.
However, the landslide at Redhill Peninsula exposed three detached houses exist alleged illegal structures and it has driven the inter-departmental task force of the Government to inspect these houses immediately. Moreover, the media have revealed more detached houses in the same district may also have unauthorized building works constructed in respective premises. The extensive media coverage of this landside incident has caused pressure to government to initiate the investigation immediately. The Government has been enforcing the building ordinance and land lease to all the detached houses in this region, resulting in the decrease in the transaction volumes. Consequently, the property price is likely to fall soon.
In response to the public opinion, the Government related departments will issue demolition orders to detached house’s owners of having unauthorised building works in their own premises. As a result, many owners will have to spend huge sums of money to reinstate their premises. During the reinstated construction, it is difficult for the owners to put their premises on sale. When the construction works have been completed, the size of the garden and the carpeted floor area of the premises will be significantly reduced, and the market value of these detached houses will decrease significantly.
Although unauthorized building works of these houses are also common in other districts, it is difficult to conduct large-scale inspections due to the lack of the experienced officials to execute this policy. Unless there are serious landslide incidents occurring happen in other area, unauthorised structure will still exist in different districts. The house price and transaction volume will not be seriously affected by Redhill Peninsula incident.
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1. Homebuyers gain stronger bargaining power 2023-09-16 22:28:42 |
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In Hong Kong’s real estate industry, the adage “one man’s weakness is another man’s strength” rings true as occupiers and homebuyers in the city gain stronger bargaining power amidst a slowing market. From the office market to luxury residences, real estate agents are saying buyers and tenants are expecting substantial discounts from their landlords. “Office vacancy in Hong Kong is over 15% already and this has created more options for the occupiers to consider during their renewal or relocation,” Alex Siu, senior associate director for Office Services at Colliers, told Hong Kong Business magazine. |
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2. No negligence involved inspection of Houde in 2023-09-16 22:33:49 |
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Development Secretary Bernadette Linn on Saturday dismissed suggestions that there was negligence involved in the inspection of unauthorised construction, after unapproved building works were found at three luxury homes on the Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam.
Speaking on an RTHK programme, the minister said authorities are gathering evidence and will make prosecutions accordingly. They will also conduct large-scale inspections at housing estates.
Linn said the high-end residential estate was not on the list of proactive inspections, but priority will be given to those located by the sea and near hillsides in future.
"In terms of these kinds of houses, I think it is logical that for the prioritisation, we will accord priority to those facing the sea and on the slope," she said. |
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3. Luxury homes bear burnt of losses 2023-09-17 10:08:47 |
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Interest rate hikes and sales launches for new builds have dragged down the secondary market, with many potential buyers turning cautious and homeowners rushing to sell - even if it comes at a loss. Twenty housing estates saw 63 units sold off at lower prices, with the losses ranging from HK$866,000 to HK$8.96 million, or a 9.8 to 30.1 percent decrease. Of these, luxury units were particularly hit hard. A four-bedroom unit on a high floor that came with a storage room and sea views at The Graces in Tai Po went for HK$40 million, or HK$18,315 per square foot, which was lower than the asking price of HK$43 million, according to Ricacorp Properties. |
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4. No negligence on Redhill inspection 2023-09-17 15:18:05 |
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Development Secretary Bernadette Linn on Saturday dismissed suggestions that there was negligence involved in the inspection of unauthorised construction, after unapproved building works were found at three luxury homes on the Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam.
Speaking on an RTHK programme, the minister said authorities are gathering evidence and will make prosecutions accordingly. They will also conduct large-scale inspections at housing estates.
Linn said the high-end residential estate was not on the list of proactive inspections, but priority will be given to those located by the sea and near hillsides in future.
"In terms of these kinds of houses, I think it is logical that for the prioritisation, we will accord priority to those facing the sea and on the slope," she said. |
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5. 2 factors exacerbating labour shortages 2023-09-18 11:12:57 |
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The ageing population and the outflow of local young people are exacerbating labour shortages in Hong Kong's transportation and logistics sector, particularly in the public transport and civil aviation, according to a QBE Asia report. In Hong Kong, job vacancy rates in the transport and logistics sector have become 1.9x higher than pre-COVID levels. Of Singapore's total employment, the transport and logistics sector only accounts for 6.0% or 163,000 people. "The labour shortage comes at a time when Hong Kong is expected to see surging demands of international personnel and cargo travelling through 2023-24," QBE Asia said. Whilst the government has planned to introduce over 8,000 skilled foreign workers later this year for positions such as bus drivers and airport staff, QBE Asia said, "pushback from local labour organisations could limit the government’s ability to significantly increase the number of foreign workers in the short term." |
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6. Limiter supply hampered supet prime hse growth 2023-09-19 10:53:00 |
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The total volume and value of super-prime homes sold in Hong Kong declined in 3Q23, data from Knight Frank showed. In 2Q23, only 42 residential properties worth US$10m above were sold, a drop from 1Q23 when 67 homes exchanged hands. The value of sold super-prime homes likewise dropped, falling from US$989m to US$834m. On the flip side, average selling prices of super-prime homes in Hong Kong increased to US$19.9m in 2Q23 from US$14.8m in 1Q23. According to Knight Frank, Hong Kong’s super-prime market received a “boost from mainland buyers who had been largely absent from the market between 2020 and 2022.” |
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7. The Fed is expected to hold its lending rate 2023-09-20 01:51:54 |
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The Federal Reserve is expected to hold its benchmark lending rate steady this week as it waits for more data to understand how previous rate hikes are affecting the US economy. The central bank raised rates to a 22-year high in July. At the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed is also set to release a fresh set of economic projections that will likely reflect stronger economic growth and slightly lower unemployment this year, compared with previous estimates. Officials’ new economic projections will likely show at least one more rate hike this year. There seems to be a consensus among Fed officials that holding rates steady this month is the right move — but some have said the Fed could raise rates again after September. Investors will be looking for clues that the Fed is done hiking rates, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell will likely stress in his post-meeting news conference that inflation remains unacceptably high. That would leave the door open for another rate increase, which could come when the following meeting concludes, on November 1. Financial markets currently see a 69% chance the Fed will continue to pause rate increases in November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. |
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8. Dinac has filed for bankruptcy protection in us 2023-09-20 16:05:25 |
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One of China’s leading property developers, Sunac, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, shortly after winning approval from its creditors to restructure nearly $10 billion worth of debt. The company filed a petition for Chapter 15 protection with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday. It’s the second big distressed Chinese developer in weeks to seek such protection: Evergrande made a Chapter 15 filing in the United States a month ago, after posting losses of $81 billion in the last two years. |
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9. Investors only invest licensed virtual platforms 2023-09-21 11:47:29 |
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Chief Executive John Lee called on investors to invest in virtual asset platforms that are licenced and regulated by the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC). He added that the licencing regime was introduced to protect investors’ assets and investments and make sure there is a good risk control system that the money they put into investment will not be abused by the platform. “We will be doing more public education (on the risks of virtual assets trading) for investors to know about the risks,” said Lee, reacting to the recent JPEX incident. |
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10. 内地客炒賣黄金 2023-09-22 00:59:44 |
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近日，「赴港買金條」賺錢大法成為中國社交平台的流行熱話，有中國網民分享自己在港買黃金再轉賣回深圳，來回一趟可賺逾千元，單日賺高達7千元。不過，專家提醒，攜帶的黃金若超過法律標準，則涉嫌走私。 根據中國媒體「中新經緯」報導，在港島上環的一間金鋪，店內有多位顧客在等候。來自深圳的泰正（化名）透露，上周香港金價和內地金價價差較大，因此在香港購人黃金再帶回深圳水貝轉賣，一克可賺16-17元左右，他和朋友一周內多次往返。 |
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11. Supply builds up in primary market 2023-09-23 14:02:05 |
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More than 1,360 residential units were approved for presale in the primary market last month, bringing the total to over 16,000 units that have been approved for sale but not yet officially listed for sale in the market. Kai Tak has the lion's share of units, surpassing 8,200, which constitutes 60 percent of the total. The bulk of the rest are in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long with approximately 3,300 units and 2,000 units respectively. Currently, there are seven new projects in Kai Tak that have been approved for sale but have not yet been officially listed. |
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