A new Hong Kong development will have a little something extra for the first five buyers to purchase a four-bedroom apartment—a free Tesla.
K&K Property announced that it will offer Tesla vouchers worth HK$620,900 (US$79,590)—the starting price for a Tesla Model S—to the first five buyers of four-bedroom apartments, costing HK$38 million (US$4.87 million), in the Victoria Skye, an upmarket development project in Kai Tak, the site of Hong Kong’s former airport, according to the company’s news release last Thursday.
Buyers can also opt for a HK$500,000 (US$64,092) cash rebate on the property instead.
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"The promotion is to encourage our future residents to use environmental-friendly electric cars," said the development’s investment manager Tong Cheung in the news release. "All the 143 parking spaces at Victoria Skye have charger systems for electric cars."
Mr. Cheung couldn’t be reached for further comment.
According to K&K Property’s website, the Victoria Skye development includes 44 one-bedroom to four-bedroom apartments of around 1,270 square feet each. They will be sold via a bidding process that is expected to set buyers back at least HK$38 million (US$4.87 million) a piece.
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So far, 715 units have been sold at Victoria Skye, or 99% of the development, bringing in total sales revenue of HK$7.5 billion (US$961 million), according to a news release.
As Hong Kong and China rapidly churn out billionaires, super-luxury homes are coveted in the city-state, which is ranked Asia’s—and arguably the world’s—most expensive property market.
Hong Kong remained the least affordable city for the seventh consecutive year in 2016, with the ratio of median home price to the median annual household income reaching 18.1 times, according to a survey.
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Earlier last week, an anonymous buyer bought two adjacent apartments in a luxurious tower in the Hong Kong gated community of Mount Nicholson for a total of HK$1.16 billion (US$148.5 million), setting a new per square feet price record for Asia.
Although the demand remains strong in the high-end market, developers still are trying their best to allure rich buyers.
"Having a Tesla car is cool in Hong Kong and this will draw buyer attention," said Sammy Po, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential market, in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
The offer could be particularly attractive to electric cars enthusiasts because of the recent tax waiver change in Hong Kong, which has caused prices for the cars to jump.
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The government announced earlier this year that the full waiver of First Registration Tax for e-cars—a measure that has been in place for more than 20 years—would end on March 31, with the tax discount capped at HK$97,500 (US$12,498).
After the waiver was scrapped, the prices of electric vehicles (like Tesla) shot up 50% to 80%. A Tesla Model S, for example, which cost HK$800,000 (US$102,550) under the previous full tax waiver, now costs about HK$1.5 million ($192,279).
Luxury property developers in the U.S. are also banking on electric cars soon becoming commonplace among buyers. Across the U.S., high-end residential buildings, like the 3900 Alton new development in Miami Beach, are including electric vehicle charging stations as amenities.