Lord Of the Land part 2

Kevin, Lily and I, and the bank, now own three apartments in Hong Kong.

Apartment #1 is in Hung Hom, near the Whampoa shopping boat. It was built in 2015 and is up and running, ready for someone to move in. The property management company is already advertising. It is a 3 bedroom/2 bath with a large kitchen, by Hong Kong standards, tiny bedrooms, an open rectangle of a living room/dining room, and outstanding views of Kowloon Bay from the living room and all bedrooms. Since it faces east and has larger than average windows, there is plenty of natural light in the morning, except in the kitchen. No one can possibly build anything between the apartment and the bay, so that view will never be obstructed. Unfortunately, the only balconies are off the laundry room and kitchen, which face inward, toward the neighbor's apartment. Most of the newer buildings are designed that way, so no one can see everyone's laundry from the street. It makes the building look better, which probably increases the property value, so I have no complaints.

This is the largest estate we bought into, with over 4,000 units in two dozen towers. That might seem large, but it pales next to Hung Hom's largest estate, which has over 10,000 units in 88 towers. That was actually my first choice, mostly because I like the neighborhood, but the only apartments available were studios the size of closets and tiny one bedrooms. We knew it had to be at least 3 bedrooms to have any resale value. Instead, we went newer and smaller. As a private housing estate, it has all the usual courtyard/landscaping with water features, indoor playground, clubhouse, gym, a few outdoor swimming pools, underground parking for cars/scooters/bicycles and even visitors. There are a few restaurants and shopping on site, but since this is Hung Hom, the entire estate is surrounded by shopping and food. It is an easy walk to the Whampoa or Ho Man Tin MTR stations, and as a larger estate, there are usually taxis waiting on the main road. It is close to Route 5 and Route 1, which is both convenient for drivers and inconvenient because of the horrendous traffic. They are building a new highway to alleviate some of Route 5's congestion, but it will not connect to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. I have absolutely no idea about area schools and grocery stores, but the property management company does. I know about a ParknShop maybe a kilometer away, but there is probably something closer.

Apartment #2 is in Ma On Shan, surrounded by several country parks. It is in a brand new estate and will be ready for tenants in a few months. Several apartments were available, but we went with a 4 bedroom/3 bath with a small but nice kitchen, small bedrooms, large living room/dining room, and great views of Plover Cove. Since it faces west, the sunset over the mountains should be beautiful. The living room balcony looks like a great place to sit with a drink and enjoy the view. It is physically possible for someone to build something between the apartment and the view, but that would be a major construction project that takes years. As with the Hung Hom apartment, the laundry balcony faces the neighbors, but this kitchen has an outward window facing east.

This is the smallest estate we bought into, with 500 units in four towers and a few “houses” that are a block of 3 and 4 story apartments. It has less landscaping than the Hung Hom estate and fewer common areas, but they put in a couple of “Italian” water fountains. I have only been to Italy once, so I am far from an expert, but these fountains do not look like what I saw in Rome. There is a covered outdoor playground, clubhouse, a small but nice gym, a curved outdoor swimming pool, a smaller rooftop pool, and ample underground parking. Ma On Shan is in the New Territories and nowhere near Central, but it is one of those up and coming neighborhoods that developers hope will attract people who want to get away from the crowds. With any luck, rich people will move in and drive up the prices. I would not be at all surprised if this apartment brings the most profit after we eventually sell them. It is still in Hong Kong, so there are at least two shopping centers within 2 kilometers, one of which is connected to the nearest MTR station. The estate is close to two beaches, which is not a selling point in Chinese, for some reason.

Apartment #3 is in Kai Tak, near the old airport/now cruise terminal and about 3 kilometers from the Hung Hom apartment. The estate is still under construction and scheduled to open next year, with Phase 1 opening a few months before Phase 2. It is so new that Phase 3 has yet to be announced. Though it does not currently exist, our unit will be a 4 bedroom/3 bath with a nice kitchen, two small bedrooms and two master bedrooms, and a living room/dining room larger than all of the bedrooms combined. One of the master bedrooms will have an unusually large closet and the other will have an unusually large bathroom. Every bathroom will have a bathtub, unlike most Hong Kong apartments. The living room and all bedrooms will face south toward Kowloon Bay, though the view will probably not be nearly as good as the Hung Hom apartment. The master bedroom with the large bathroom will have both south and east facing windows, so that room should get plenty of natural light. The kitchen window will face west and might possibly have views of Symphony of Lights in Victoria Harbour. Maybe.

Phase 1 will have 350 units in two towers and four “houses”. Phase 2, with our apartment, will have 250 units in two towers. Since the old airport height restrictions no longer exist, every new development in the area is going for tall over wide. This is easily our highest apartment, by ten floors. By next year, the estate will have several gardens and water features, an indoor playground/clubhouse, a larger gym than the others, a large outdoor swimming pool with smaller children's pool and jacuzzi, and plenty of parking. Kowloon Walled City Park is a kilometer away to the northwest, Kwun Tong Promenade and the new cruise terminal are 2 kilometers to the southeast, and the Hung Hom Promenade is a little over 2 kilometers to the southwest. Kai Tak and Kowloon Bay are the closest MTR stations. This estate is also near Route 5, but farther away from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. Kai Tak is largely under construction, but everyone assumes that it will be full of shopping and food just like every other developed inch of Hong Kong. If future trends are anything like current trends, it will mostly be higher end yuppie shopping, which I think has far less character, but is much better for property values.