Hang Seng Bank CEO buys HK$26.6 million flat as Hong Kong home prices edge higher

The executive director and CEO of Hang Seng Bank has bought a home in Hong Kong's Tai Hang district, joining a growing coterie of financiers on the hunt for high-value residential property that has helped to drive the city's lived-in home prices to a five-month high.

A lived-in flat measuring 1,193 sq ft (110.8 square metres) at Flora Garden was handed over on Wednesday to Diana Ferreira Cesar, according to the Land Registry.

Shop Top Mortgage Rates

Personalized rates in minutes Learn More

A quicker path to financial freedom Learn More

Your Path to Homeownership Learn More

Powered by Money.com - Yahoo may earn commission from the links above.

The unit was transacted for HK$26.6 million (US$3.4 million), or HK$22,322 per square foot, slightly higher than previous transactions in the apartment complex, according to an agent. Another unit in the same block measuring 1,011 sq ft was sold on Wednesday for HK$20 million, or HK$19,703 per square foot, according to Centaline's website.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Flora Garden, which was completed in 1987 by the Nan Fung Group, comprises three H-shaped buildings with a total of 240 units.

Hang Seng Bank's executive director and CEO Diana Cesar during the bank's press conference on February 21, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Wong alt=Hang Seng Bank's executive director and CEO Diana Cesar during the bank's press conference on February 21, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Wong>

Cesar, who has been Hang Seng Bank's CEO since 2021, joins a growing list of wealthy investors and financial executives who are betting on a recovery in the city's housing market.

The Post has reached out to Cesar for comment.

Last month, Francis Yuen Tin-fan, the former CEO of the company that operates Hong Kong's stock exchange, spent HK$46.5 million with his wife, Rose Lee Wai-mun, on a luxury flat in Kai Tak. They bought a 1,298 sq ft four-bedroom unit at The Knightsbridge for HK$35,794 per square foot, according to Land Registry records.

A view of The Knightsbridge (right) in Kai Tak, jointly developed by Henderson Land Development, China Overseas Land, Chinachem Group, Empire Group, New World Development and Wheelock Properties. Photo: Edmond So alt=A view of The Knightsbridge (right) in Kai Tak, jointly developed by Henderson Land Development, China Overseas Land, Chinachem Group, Empire Group, New World Development and Wheelock Properties. Photo: Edmond So>

Yuen and Rose would be neighbours with Robin Zeng Yuqun, the billionaire founder of the world's largest maker of electric-car batteries, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), who paid HK$33.5 million, or HK$33,383 per square foot, for a unit in the same development last year.

Story Continues

Also in July, David Wraight, managing director at Morgan Stanley, bought two luxury residential units in Hong Kong for HK$147.3 million. The flats in the first phase of Deep Water Pavilia in Wong Chuk Hang, developed by New World Development and MTR Corporation, have a combined area of 3,242 sq ft.

In June, a person connected to veteran HSBC banker Peter Wong Tung-shun bought two connected units at the upscale Parkview apartment complex in Tai Tam with a total area of 4,616 sq ft for HK$125 million.

A view of the Parkview apartment complex near the Tai Tam Country Park. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images alt=A view of the Parkview apartment complex near the Tai Tam Country Park. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images>

Hong Kong's residential property market has shown signs of a recovery, as second-hand home prices in the city recorded a 0.03 per cent gain in June, the third straight month of improvement, according to data from the Rating and Valuation Department. Since April, lived-in home prices have risen 0.63 per cent.

Meanwhile, residential rents climbed for the seventh straight month, bringing an official index to 195.6, the highest since hitting 197.4 in September 2019.

The city's housing market has been in a slump since peaking in September 2021. Home prices fell by as much as 28.4 per cent through March this year.

St George's Mansions on Kadoorie Hill in Ho Man Tin. Photo: Handout alt=St George's Mansions on Kadoorie Hill in Ho Man Tin. Photo: Handout>

According to government data, 5,955 residential units changed hands in June, a seven-month high and 16.7 per cent greater than in May.

It was the first time since late 2021 that home sales topped 5,000 units for four months in a row, according to CBRE.

Last year, Bob Prince, co-chief investment officer at hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, acquired a 1,752 sq ft three-bedroom flat at St. George's Mansions on Kadoorie Hill in Ho Man Tin for HK$95 million, citing confidence in the city's fundamentals and his wife's fondness for Hong Kong.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

View Comments