Ultra Wealthy Snap Up Flats

An average of 17 buyers fought over one flat -- a shoe box in the sky

There are still lots of people in Hong Kong who have gobs of money to spend.

This past weekend Nan Fung Development sold 460 units out of 487 at its LP6 Project in Lohas Park. A total of 8,145 people registered for the sale, which meant an average of 17 buyers fighting over one unit.

Of course the ones with the fattest wallets won.

Ultra-wealthy buyers snapped up multiple flats

The square footage ranged from 307 sq ft for one bedroom to 971 sq ft for three bedrooms, and prices were listed from HK$4.492 million to HK$13.241 million (US$572,252 to US$1.69 million).

But demand raised prices further.

"A handful of buyers wanted to buy four flats for more than HK$28 million each," said Louis Chan, Asia-Pacific vice-chairman and chief executive of the residential division at Centaline Property Agency. "Investors can lease one-bedroom flats at Lohas Park for more than HK$9,000 a month, at a return of about 3 percent."

Wait a second -- more than one buyer wanted to buy four flats, which meant they each paid HK$28 million?

Where did that money come from? I'm obviously not earning enough to play this high-stakes game.

A showroom flat giving a sophisticated atmosphere

Property agents reported a mainland Chinese buyer paid HK$35 million for three of the three-bedroom units, and a single-bedroom studio for investment, and on top of that paid HK$10.5 million in stamp duty, so his total bill was HK$45.5 million.

No wonder Hong Kong tops New York in terms of the number of ultra-wealthy people at just over 10,000 compared to 8,865 in the Big Apple.

The definition of ultra-wealthy -- individuals who are worth at least US$30 million.

The rest of us feel ultra poor...