China Merchants Buys Hung Hom Student Housing Block
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago4 MIN
Summary
China Merchants has bought the entire Forest Cove building in Hung Hom from Easyknit for about HK$500 million, in a fresh push into Hong Kong’s student-accommodation market . The newly completed project offers 205 beds and was reportedly fully leased even before the academic year began, underlining strong demand for ready-to-move-in student and professional housing .
Key Points
- Forest Cove at 470-478 Chatham Road North is a 29-storey building completed in 2025, with approved gross floor area of about 41,875 square feet .
- The property includes roughly 6,977 square feet of retail space from the ground to second floors, alongside upper-floor accommodation targeting students and professionals .
- Its 184 units were reconfigured into 205 beds, all reportedly leased out, producing monthly rent of about HK$2.1 million and an estimated yield above 5 per cent .
- Bed rents started from about HK$6,800 a month, including utilities and broadband, with shared facilities such as a basketball court, yoga gym, reading corner and sky garden .
- China Merchants previously bought Hung Hom’s “晉匯” for HK$140 million and a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel on Austin Road 2 for HK$206 million, lifting total spending above HK$800 million .
Why It Matters
The acquisition reflects how student housing has become a target asset class for major mainland and Hong Kong investors as demand rises with talent-admission policies and larger non-local student quotas . It also signals that long-stay rental accommodation near university clusters is increasingly viewed as a stable, income-generating investment in the current property market .