Lantau’s popularity grows among bankers, lawyers looking to rent luxury property as pilots desert the island
- Rents of high-end homes in Lantau have fallen by 10 to 15 per cent since the first quarter of last year, according to Knight Frank
- Swire Properties says there is huge interest from prospective clients looking to lease homes at its Ham Tin Villas luxury project in Pui O, Lantau
Local residents, bankers and lawyers have replaced pilots as top renters of luxury property in Lantau amid diminished prospects in the aviation industry, according to property agents.
Rents of high-end homes in Lantau, the preferred location of aviation sector employees owing to its proximity to the city’s airport, have declined by 10 to 15 per cent since the first quarter of last year, after the Covid-19 pandemic led to massive job losses in the industry as Hong Kong closed its borders to international travellers to contain the spread of the virus, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.
“Previously, a majority of luxury projects in Pui O [Lantau] was leased by airline industry workers, [but] now only about 10 per cent of these units are occupied by pilots,” said Alice Leung, an agent at Lantau-based property agency Findley Leung Group. “Now, we have a diverse group of people looking at luxury homes in Pui O, including bankers and other local residents.”
Before 2020, some 80 per cent of the homes in Lantau were rented by airline industry staff, due to its proximity to the airport in Chek Lap Kok. In the past six months, Leung said her agency has helped many bankers, lawyers and businessmen to both rent and buy property.
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