Casino billionaire sells home for $8.9M in world’s most expensive residential market

A casino magnate has sold her $8.9 million home in Sai Kung, one of Hong Kong's most expensive residential markets. The property, located at Royal Castle on Pik Sha Road, boasts four bedrooms, a garden, a swimming pool, and a rooftop terrace, as reported by Hong Kong 01. Leong, who owns SJM Holdings and ranks as Forbes' second-wealthiest individual in Hong Kong with a net worth of $2 billion, purchased the house in 2012 for HKD68.8 million.

After holding it for a decade, she made a modest profit of HKD1.2 million. Recent discounts of up to 10% in the Sai Kung area have encouraged more high-value transactions, according to Frankie Liu, sales director at Century 21 Goodwin Property. With the surge of discounted luxury homes cleared, luxury residential transactions in the area are expected to slow down in the fourth quarter, Liu added.

In The Peak and Southern districts, recent deals have mainly involved established luxury estates purchased by local tycoons to upgrade their properties. On September 17, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority increased the city's base interest rate to 4.25%, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike. Analysts predict that another Fed increase in late October could prompt Hong Kong's lenders to adjust their rates as well.

Hong Kong has been named the world's most expensive residential property market by Deutsche Bank, and it ranks as the second-largest super prime residential market globally, just behind Dubai. In the second quarter, Hong Kong's transactions of homes priced at $10 million or more surged 75% to $1.67 billion, as reported by property consultancy Knight Frank.