A Hong Kong executive has forked out HK$5.18 million (approx RM2.8m) for space to leave his vehicle, setting yet another record in the costliest major urban centre on earth to become the owner of the world’s most expensive car parking spot.
Kwan Wai-ming, the executive director of Huarong Investment Stock Corp., paid the record price for his third parking spot at the Upton apartment complex in western Hong Kong’s Sai Ying Pun. He’d already paid a total of HK$88.55 million since 2014 for two apartment units, and three parking lots at the 48-storey complex.
Lot No. 14 on the first floor of the tower measures 188 square feet (17.5 square metres), about 40 per cent bigger than the typical lot, according to the data and records by the Land Registry.
The price paid by Kwan, 58, surpassed the HK$4.8 million record set last October at 55 Conduit Road at the Mid-Levels, then the world record holder for the costliest car park.
Kwan could not be reached to comment.
Kwan paid a total of HK$75.6 million in 2014 and 2016 for two apartment units at Upton, according to records. In January last year, he bought two car parking lots at the complex, developed by Emperor International Holdings, for HK$3.78 million and HK$3.98 million.
The amount paid for Kwan’s third car park lot is enough to buy a 200-sq ft apartment unit at the One Prestige apartment complex in North Point, or a three-bedroom flat at Kingswood Villas in Tin Shui Wai, according to agents’ listings.
Hong Kong’s property prices have topped the world by square footage, making the city the most expensive urban centre to live and work in. Soaring prices of offices, apartment units and villas have also lifted the costs of car parks, making their ownership the latest status symbols for some, and investment opportunity for others.
Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong’s biggest developer by market value, is slated to release 224 car parking lots for sale next month at its upscale project The Ultima in Ho Man Tin. Prices per lot will range between HK$3.2 million and HK$4 million.