Peak Prices for Hong Kong High-Rise

Two apartments have hit the market at Opus Hong Kong, the ultraluxury tower designed by well-known architect Frank Gehry. Opus Hong Kong continues to raise investors’ eyebrows with its record-breaking prices since its completion in 2012. Perched in one of Hong Kong’s most upscale neighborhoods, the Peak, the Opus’s 12 units have a commanding view of the city’s famed Victoria Harbour and its glittering skyline. One of the two apartments, a 5,444-square-foot unit, is listed for HK$520 million ($67 million), according to developer Swire Properties.

The smaller unit, at 5,132 square feet, is being offered for HK$395 million, or $51 million. The two units, released for sale on Monday, have received “inquiries from interested parties,” a spokeswoman at Swire Properties told Mansion Global. She did not disclose the number of inquiries. The two units are being rented at the moment, and Swire Properties will remain the landlord until the leases expire. Along with its eye-popping prices, Opus Hong Kong, Gehry’s first residential project in Asia, is notable for its undulating glass façade and twisted shape. In June, a Danish businessman paid almost HK$498 million ($64 million), or more than $12,300 a square foot, for a 5,188-square-feet duplex unit at Opus Hong Kong, according to the South China Morning Post. The sale broke the record for the highest price per square foot ever paid in Asia.

Another unit sold for $61 million in 2012, setting the record for Asia’s priciest apartment at the time. Hong Kong’s homes are among the most expensive in the world, with costs driven by an influx of affluent mainland Chinese buyers who seek to park their wealth in the prime property market, making home ownership beyond the reach of many ordinary Hong Kong residents. Hong Kong’s luxury residential prices increased by nearly 7% in June compared with a year earlier, according to consultancy Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index. It predicts prices will grow between 2% and 5% this year.