Gehry's Opus secures second record Hong Kong apartment price in three months

A buyer has paid HK$68,083  per square foot (A$90,546 per square metre) for a luxury flat at Opus Hong Kong, the new Frank Gehry-designed residential building in Mid-Levels East.

It represents a record for an apartment in Hong Kong, and Asia, in terms of price per square foot.

The official data from the Hong Kong Lands Registry shows the flat, on the ninth floor of the building at 53 Stubbs Road, was sold for HK$455 million (A$56 million) on October 17.

The 6,683-square-foot flat offers a view of the city and Victoria Harbour.

The price beat the previous record, set by a duplex flat at 39 Conduit Road in Mid-Levels West, which sold for HK$360.7 million, or HK$63,999 per square foot in April last year, according to The South China Morning Post.

The price is almost 6% higher than that paid for the eighth floor Opus Hong Kong offering which sold for HK$430 million or HK$63,657 per square foot in August.

The 12-storey Opus Hong Kong, developed by Swire Properties, has 10 flats and two double-level garden apartments with private swimming pools.

The purchase came nine days before the government announced measures to curb residential property speculation.

Ricky Poon, executive director of Colliers International's residential sales department, says sales of luxury flats have dropped significantly since the end of October as the new stamp duty had kept many mainland buyers away.

"Transaction numbers will drop a further 30 to 40% in the coming three to six months and prices will fall 10 to 15% in the coming six months," he told the SCMP.