Casino billionaire Leong sells Hong Kong house for HK$69.2 million after 14-year hold
Macau casino billionaire Lo Yuk Sui has sold a house at Royal Castle on Pik Sha Road in Hong Kong's Sai Kung area for HK$69.2 million (S$12.3 million). The 210 sq m property, purchased in 2012 for HK$68.8 million, yielded a profit of HK$1.2 million after 14 years.
Macau casino billionaire Lo Yuk Sui has sold a house at Royal Castle on Pik Sha Road in Hong Kong's Sai Kung area for HK$69.2 million (about S$12.3 million). The 210 sq m property includes four bedrooms, a garden, a swimming pool and a rooftop terrace, according to local newspaper Hong Kong 01.
Leong purchased the house through a company in early 2012 for HK$68.8 million. After holding it for 14 years, she made a profit of HK$1.2 million. The house was first listed several years ago for HK$168 million.
Leong is co-chairwoman and the largest individual shareholder of SJM Holdings, which operates five casinos in Macau. Forbes estimates her net worth at US$2 billion.
In the Sai Kung area, some luxury homeowners had recently become willing to negotiate discounts of up to 10 per cent, helping lift the number of high-value transactions, said Frankie Liu, sales director at Century 21 Goodwin Property, as quoted by South China Morning Post. "With the batch of discounted luxury homes now cleared, I expect luxury residential transaction activity in the area to slow down in the fourth quarter," he added.
In The Peak and Southern districts, recent deals have mainly involved established luxury estates, with local tycoons buying homes to upgrade, said Joseph Yan, senior principal district sales director at Centaline Property.
On September 17, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised the city's base interest rate to 4.25 per cent after the U.S. Federal Reserve increased its target range. Hong Kong's three note-issuing banks did not follow. Analysts said another Fed increase at its late-October meeting could prompt the city's lenders to adjust their rates.
Hong Kong was named the world's most expensive residential property market this year by Deutsche Bank. It is also the second-largest super prime residential market in the world behind Dubai. In the second quarter, Hong Kong's transactions of homes priced US$10 million or more jumped 75 per cent to US$1.67 billion, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.
