Ex-Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa’s sister buys US$15 million flat at discount

The Mid-Levels property deal comes as celebrities, tycoons and other wealthy investors snap up luxury homes at depressed prices

The sister of former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa bought a HK$119 million (US$15.2 million) flat in the Mid-Levels neighbourhood, joining a cohort of wealthy investors who have been taking advantage of depressed prices to snap up luxury homes .

A 3,349 sq ft, four-bedroom unit in Grenville House, located at 3 Magazine Gap Road in Mid-Levels, was sold on Tuesday, according to Land Registry records.

Shirley Shiao Ping Peng and William Peng Shih-Hsiao appear to be the directors of the acquiring firm, Noble Gather, according to the Companies Registry. Shirley Peng is the sister of Tung and the widow of Peng Yin-kang, chairman of Chinese Maritime Transport. William Peng, their son, is now chairman.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The sale was around 8.5 per cent cheaper than a previous Grenville House deal. A flat on a lower level, but with the same floor area, sold for HK$130 million in December, according to a transaction record from Centaline.

And it was 26 per cent cheaper than the HK$160 million paid by Tung for another unit in 2021, according to reports in local media.

Celebrities, tycoons and other wealthy investors have been snapping up discounted luxury homes, as prices of exclusive residences have plunged by as much as 45 per cent from their peaks.

In March, Cantopop singer Gloria Tang Tze-kei bought two flats in Wan Chai at a 35 per cent discount from a peak price three years ago. Tang, known professionally as G.E.M., bought two 2,480-sq-ft units in Leon Court at Wong Nai Chung Gap Road for HK$85 million, according to Land Registry records.

Knight Frank said Hong Kong was the world's most active super-prime home market in the final quarter of 2024, with sales surging by 380 per cent from a year earlier. Super prime homes are defined by the consultancy as having a price tag of more than US$10 million.

A buyer from mainland China bought a 6,071 sq ft detached unit in Pokfulam 138, a luxury project developed by Ryoden Development, for HK$300 million in early May, according to Land Registry records. The price translated to around HK$50,000 per square foot.

The city's lived-in home prices rose in April, putting a stop to a four-month losing streak.

An index measuring home prices gained 0.35 per cent from a month earlier, the Rating and Valuation Department said in a report on Wednesday. Prices declined by a cumulative 2.33 per cent from November to March, contributing to a 28 per cent slide since the market peaked in September 2021.

Transactions in both primary and secondary home markets jumped last month, with developers and owners completing the sale of 5,694 units in April, the highest monthly tally since November. They increased by 6.1 per cent versus 5,367 units in March, according to Land Registry records.