US$60 million for Hong Kong’s most expensive flat

Newly-opened Opus Hong Kong sets a world record for extravagance.

Swire Properties Ltd. said it sold the 620 square meter apartment on the ninth floor of its luxury Opus residential project at the Peak for US58.7 million. It did identify the buyer, however.

The Frank Gehry-designed building located at 53 Stubbs Road consists of 12 residential units that range from 6,000 sq ft to 6,900 sq ft in size. The mammoth sale is the latest confirmation that Hong Kong’s overheated property market remains in overdrive and that government efforts to quell a growing property bubble are failing.

Property agents said it was the highest price ever paid for an apartment in the southern Chinese financial center. The sale comes amid growing concern over surging property prices in Hong Kong driven by ultra-low interest rates and an influx of wealthy mainland Chinese buyers

The Hong Kong government has introduced various measures in an attempt to cool the market. The latest round, including a tax on foreign buyers, was introduced at the end of last month.

Swire has already sold one other unit for US55.5 million and leased out another that comes with its own pool for US$110,000 a month. Analysts believe the apartment fetched a record price because it had a unique design and location.