Photo/Chen Ronghao (NBD)

April 4 (NBD) -- Chinese mainland buyers are returning to the Hong Kong luxury property market with the transaction volume of luxury homes priced over 100 mln-HK dollars surging by 3.7 times in Q1 2023, says a report.

Similarly, Hong Kong people are also buying houses in the Chinese mainland.

"The definition of luxury property in Hong Kong is vague. Generally, salespersons call all the new-developed buildings luxury properties so as to woo investors. But the real luxury homes are located in areas like Repulse Bay and Big Wave Bay," said a senior manager in Yau Tsim Mong District, Hong Kong, who has been engaged in the real estate agency sector for more than 20 years, in an interview with NBD.

Photo/information released by an HK property agency on social media last year

Last week, Douglas Woo Chun-kuen JP, chairman & managing director of property firm Wheelock & Co, was said to have paid HK $59.8m for a flat at Repulse Bay with great sea and golf course views and two parking stalls. The former owner of the flat bought it for HK $264,800 in 1974, making a profit of HK $59,535,200, or nearly 225 times.

According to the sales manager mentioned above, luxury properties in Hong Kong are popular mainly because of scarcity and privacy. "Hong Kong has limited lands, so the majority of houses are small. But luxury houses are large ones with good views and housekeeping services. Usually, people living in neighboring areas are big names in the business and political arena."

Huang Jianye, chairman of property company MIDLAND HOLDING, reportedly said that the resuming of travel between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland has helped the economy to recover.

There were a total of 4,282 residential transactions in February, an increase of 40.3% month-on-month, according to the latest "Hong Kong Monthly Property Market Report" released by Knight Frank on March 30 this year. The market also saw several transactions of over HKD 100 million, indicating continued interest from buyers with high-quality assets.

First-hand residential sales dominated the market, with transactions increasing by 80.4% month-on-month to 655.