Retail properties offloaded for losses in weak market as revaluations spark bank concerns
Several retail properties sold recently by prominent Hong Kong investors have been offloaded at a loss – a trend analysts attributed to banks maintaining a tough stance on debt collection. Stanley Poon Chi-ming, managing director at Centaline Commercial, said retail property prices had fallen by 30 to 70 per cent from their 2018 peaks. That meant any sales in the current market – especially of…
Retail properties owned by prominent Hong Kong investors have been offloaded at a loss due to falling prices and banks enforcing strict debt collection policies. Centaline Commercial managing director Stanley Poon Chi-ming stated that retail property prices have dropped 30 to 70 percent since their 2018 peaks, resulting in losses for many sellers.
This has forced property owners to sell at low prices to meet mortgage shortfalls and repay their loans, leading to financial distress and defaults. Veteran investor Yeung Fun-bun recently sold a ground-floor shop at 250 Castle Peak Road for HK$22.8 million, a 58.5 percent reduction from its 2018 listing price. Another investor, Choi Pak-nang, incurred a HK$36 million paper loss on a ground-floor shop in Mong Kok after 14 years of ownership.
Property owners facing financial pressures are selling at lower prices, with some banks even taking possession and selling the properties as foreclosed properties.
Written by urgent.news from SCMP Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
