HONG KONG, 24 MAY 2010 — A public auction has been held in Hong Kong for “Falconridge”, 35 Barker Road, The Peak. The auction started with an opening bid of HK$1.55 billion and the property was finally sold following 10 bids to a local developer for HK$1.82 billion.

The final price exceeded the reserve price by over 17%, setting what is believed to be a new record high for luxury residential sites in Hong Kong of approximately HK$70,000 per sq ft in terms of its accommodation value. The auction atmosphere was very competitive, with three parties bidding for the property.

Joseph Tsang, Jones Lang LaSalle’s International Director and Head of Capital Markets, Hong Kong, said, ‘Today’s auction results reflect that the ‘super’ luxury residential property market has remained intact following the government’s implementation of the new property market measures, while the transaction price will have an ‘indicative’ meaning for the future trends.  We expect that the luxury residential market will remain positive,’ added Tsang.