In recent months, a number of affluent tycoons who amassed their fortunes during China’s economic boom have been parting with their luxurious properties in Hong Kong. The exodus includes:
- Two exquisite apartments in a Frank Gehry-designed glass-and-steel tower, elegantly twisting out of the mountainside.
- Three opulent European-style mansions adorned with turrets and lavish swimming pools.
- Four pristine white villas, perfectly aligned in a row.
To date, all but two of these prestigious properties have been sold, each fetching tens of millions of dollars. Remarkably, these sales occurred at significant discounts, with many properties going for one-third to more than half of their previous valuations.
Hong Kong’s housing market has long been characterized by an almost surreal quality, where property prices have surged for nearly two decades, rendering the city one of the least affordable in the world. Meanwhile, many residents have been forced to endure cramped living conditions, often residing in subdivided apartments known colloquially as “coffin homes.”
Ironically, many of those who played a role in exacerbating the housing market’s disparities—including builders and affluent investors—are now compelled to sell their coveted homes in a hurry. Their fortunes had soared alongside the meteoric rise of China’s real estate sector, but the subsequent collapse has left many struggling to maintain liquidity.
Among the most prominent figures caught in this maelstrom is Hui Ka Yan, the former head of the once-mighty property developer China Evergrande. Following the company’s dramatic downfall, creditors seized his European-style mansions, collectively valued at over $190 million. Notably, one of these properties was sold this year for $58 million—less than half of the $130 million that a company associated with Evergrande and Mr. Hui had originally paid for it back in 2009, as reported by the global real estate firm Knight Frank.
