HK developers respond to increased competition from mainland buyers

Hong Kong developers are getting outbid by mainland Chinese developers on land sales within the city.

Up until 2012, seven Hong Kong developers dominated the city’s residential land market winning 45 percent of all sales, according to the South China Morning Post, however, by last year, data from Jones Lang LaSalle showed new players from mainland China had the unseated historic winners; those seven developers are now landing residential land deals only 22 percent of the time.

The new competition is prompting Hong Kong developers to buy existing buildings, instead of competing for land deals against mainland developers who have earned a reputation for being willing to pay high prices and negotiate aggressively.

[South China Morning Post] — E.K. Hudson