HONG KONG: Hong Kong may be in its worst recession in years but its luxury property market is still thriving after a five-bedroom apartment broke records with its $59 million price tag.

While there have been more expensive properties sold in Hong Kong, the 3,378-square-foot penthouse in the affluent Mid-Levels neighbourhood set a new benchmark for price per square foot at $17,500.

The HK$459.4 million sale, reported by local media on Wednesday and recorded in the development’s register of transactions, illustrates the stark inequality in Hong Kong.

Recent political instability coupled with the coronavirus has hammered the economy, which contracted a record of 6.1 per cent last year. Unemployment is currently at 6.6pc, the highest in 16 years.

But bellwether luxury property sales suggest the super rich are weathering the storm just fine.

The price paid by the unidentified buyer for the property at 21 Borrett Road — a newly built luxury apartment tower — beat the previous price per square foot record set in 2017.

And it comes a week after a consortium set a new record when it paid $935.2 million — or $6,450 per square foot — for a piece of land on The Peak, the mountain that dominates Hong Kong Island and remains the city’s most exclusive neighbourhood.

Hong Kong is a city of stark contrasts — where impoverished elderly people can be seen collecting cardboard to recycle on streets filled with supercars and luxury goods stores. The cramped financial hub regularly tops various rankings of cities with the least affordable housing in the world, with even the cheapest apartments far out of reach for most workers.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2021