Property Prowess
Whether they are regeneration plans for a little-known pocket of the city or an ambitious project to transform a neighbourhood, such big changes to a city’s landscape often include new residential complexes that are attractive as an investment prospect
New residential complexes that are attractive as investment prospects
When it comes to international property investment, what seems like bad news might not really be bad news at all. With the pandemic depressing economies around the world, the knockon effect on property prices means that in many places, this is a handy time to invest. With prices in the prime districts of leading international cities often remaining prohibitively high, though, investors are looking to areas, in some cases a little more suburban, that deliver greater bang for their buck, where new developments and infrastructure are prompting increased interest. Here we check out some up-andcoming suburbs in Vancouver, Sydney and London.
VANCOUVER
Mention Hongkongers and Vancouver property investment, and the word that will most likely spring to mind is “Richmond”. The city, to the south of downtown Vancouver, remains the classic place for Hong Kong buyers, boasting proximity to the city’s airport, good services, an established community and a regular supply of new-build developments.
“Especially in the downtown area, it’s heavily Hong Kong and Chinese residents: over 60 per cent,” says Kevin Skipworth, managing partner at Dexter Realty, Knight Frank’s partner in Vancouver. “In the past, downtown was the most popular area because of the density and the number of new developments, but now it’s kind of everywhere in Richmond. We find Chinese buyers are moving more into areas of Richmond where there are more single family dwellings.”
Two new planned communities and redeveloped shopping destinations are set to make a big impact on the market in the coming years. Cadillac Fairview and Shape Properties is redeveloping the popular CF Richmond Centre shopping mall—rc at CF Richmond Centre is a 11-hectare complex that will feature about 2,300 new residential units in 12 mid-rise buildings and will include the suburb’s first retail high street. Existing owner Vanprop Investments’ overhaul of the Lansdowne Centre shopping mall will have 24 new towers, including about 4,500 new apartments.
A rival to Richmond among Hongkongers is Burnaby, a suburb to the east of downtown Vancouver that is also popular among people from Hong Kong and China. Comments Skipworth: “The number of Chinese buyers might not be as high as Richmond, but it is in certain parts, in particular Metrotown.”
As a result of its growing popularity, the area’s historic reputation for affordability no longer holds so true. According to property listings platform Zolo, the median price for a property in the area stands at C$750,000 (about HK$4.4 million), compared to Richmond’s C$714,000 and downtown Vancouver’s C$1 million.
Nonetheless, the pipeline of new developments has been impressive, says Skipworth. “Burnaby has been a bit more progressive in recent years in terms of allowing new development; they’re only now cutting down. It’s traditionally had a lot of smaller, single family homes; more recently, bigger developments can be built.”
Among them, Concord Pacific’s Concord Metrotown has proven to be a particular draw for Hongkongers. Skipworth says, though, that The Amazing Brentwood, Shape Properties’ redevelopment of the Brentwood Town Centre mall, featuring more than 6,000 homes, is set to have an even bigger impact on the market.
SYDNEY
“At the top end, the market is really taking off of late,” says Ludo Downey, director of international project marketing Asia for CBRE, of Sydney, a city where a rapidly growing population and a shortage of new properties make for positive long-term indicators. Ludo warns, however, that high taxes on foreign property owners make it a market with a relatively steep cost of entry, deterring some overseas investors.
Macquarie Park, on Sydney’s North Shore, is about a 30-minute drive from downtown Sydney, with excellent road links. It’s popular with Hong Kong and other Chinese buyers. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 14.8 per cent of the people living there were born in China, and 20.8 per cent of the population are Chinese by ancestry. One reason is the nearby Macquarie University, but it also features excellent services and a large number of local employers, which also help to drive demand among renters. The area is also set to host some compelling developments in the near future, including the 24 -storey MAC Residences, the first release in Frasers Property’s vast Midtown Macpark development, and Stamford Land’s mixed-use, resort-style Macquarie Park Village.
Says Shayne Harris, partner and head of residential, Australia for Knight Frank: “In the last 15 years there’s been a huge amount of development there. It has excellent education links and one of Sydney’s most popular shopping precincts, which make it attractive to Asian investors. All the big developers are in Macquarie Park.”
LONDON
Canary Wharf, successfully developed in recent decades into London’s second business district, has long been popular with Hong Kong buyers. As Ludo Downey from CBRE puts it: “It has that global city feel about the area.” But with both high prices and low availability for Canary Wharf itself, two areas close by are growing sharply in popularity.
Poplar, just to the north, was long an island of cheap property in the area. But its superb location, cheek by jowl with Canary Wharf, plus the launch of Crossrail, the new railway line connecting east and west London and beyond, have seen it catching up rapidly over recent years—as have a number of high-quality new developments. When phase 1 of the popular Aberfeldy Village went on the market in 2015, it sold for about £450 (HK$4,600) per square foot; prices for the development now stand at £700 to £800.
Victoria Garrett, head of residential, Asia Pacific for Knight Frank, says 66 per cent of the area’s population are aged 18 to 44. “There’s still a lot of regeneration going on in that area; we see it as being very popular. There are good rental yields: it has good amenities and a local community vibe and is very attractive to the local market. And it’s still excellent value for the location.”
Just across the Thames to the southeast is one of London’s most ambitious developments of recent decades, the £8.4 billion Greenwich Peninsula. Featuring 15,000 new homes divided between seven neighbourhoods, it’s the work of Hong Kong developer Knight Dragon, and comes with the sort of flourishes typical of Hong Kong’s luxury projects, such as a club in the Upper Riverside neighbourhood that will feature a cinema room, event spaces, co-working areas, libraries and other amenities for residents.
“Greenwich is an attractive proposition for anyone who’s looking for all the bells and whistles,” says Mark Elliott, head of international residential at Savills Hong Kong. “It’s a Hong Kong developer, and one thing they do well is build amenities. From an investment perspective it absolutely makes sense. We were a little bit unsure how it would go, trying to create this new place, but they’ve managed to do it and it’s excellent. It’s rented really well.”