Which sector dominated the year-end capital market?

The biggest deal from this sector was valued at $40.3b.

As the investment market continued its sustained upward trajectory, the office sector posted the highest level of activity in Q4 in both en-bloc and strata-titled markets, according to Colliers Asia Market Snapshot Q417. 

The largest deal in Q4 was the office sale of 48 floors of The Centre in 99 Queen’s Road, Central for a whopping $40.3b (USD5.15b). Another notable deal was the $9.97b (USD1.28b) sale of an office development at 18 King Wah Road, North Point to China Tai Ping and ZK Capital. 

Despite snagging the largest year-end deal, other market sectors are not to be outdone by the office segment as new records were similarly set across retail and residential segments. 

Colliers notes that investor confidence in the retail sector is slowly returning as the $23.07b (USD2.95b) sale of 17 retail malls by Link REIT to Gaw Capital, Goldman Sachs and Great Wall
Asset Management, posted the largest retail portfolio ever sold in Hong Kong. 

The $1.9b (USD243m) sale of Zing! in Causeway Bay to a private investor also signified the growing investor sentiment in the previously battered sector.

The residential sector also performed strongly in Q4 as led by the luxury residential segment. The sale of Mount Nicholson at the Peak which broke regional records $1.16b (USD149m) after selling two units to a single buyer. 

“The overall sentiment remains positive, investment activities in both retail and industrial sectors have increased. The luxury high-end residential sector has achieved record prices while office remains the most active sector of all,” noted Colliers deputy managing director Antonio Wu. 

Moving forward, sectors to watch out for in the first quarter of 2018 include site and landed opportunities, en-bloc office and en-bloc industrial developments as the growing pool of cash-strapped buyers and aggressive local and mainland developers should keep investment sentiment robust for the year ahead.

Photo from Mstyslav Chernov - Self-photographed, https://mstyslav-chernov.com/, CC BY-SA 3.0