Late singer's house up for sale at $60m
The luxury home of late Taiwanese singing legend Teresa Teng Lai-kwan has been put up for sale at $60 million, but experts say the Stanley residence may not fetch even half that price.
About a dozen potential buyers have viewed the house at 18 Carmel Road - which was opened for public viewing because of the singer's popularity - since her family put it on the market earlier this month. However, none has made a formal bid.
The move comes after it was revealed that the late pop star is to be the next celebrity to grace Madame Tussaud's wax museum on the Peak.
Built in 1952, the mansion is now almost half a century old. Teng bought it in 1988 for about $7 million in the name of TNT Production Ltd.
It had been opened for exhibition until August and drew tens of thousands of visitors, according to TNT. Teng, who died in 1995 at the age of 42 from asthma, is hugely popular among Chinese across the world.
With a total floor area of 2,614 square feet, the house comprises a living area, a dining area, a kitchen and a guest room on the ground floor, and a master bedroom and two guest rooms on the upper floor.
It has a large garden and views of Stanley Bay.
Surveyor Pang Shiu-kee estimated the value of the 7,150 square foot plot to be between $25 million and $30 million.
'It is too much to ask for $60 million - that is equivalent to $11,189 per square foot, almost double the market price in the area. Developers would not be interested.
'They would not see it as good value for money as they probably only look at it for redevelopment,' Mr Pang said.
Even if the plot was sold at $30 million and was fully utilised, the costs of redevelopment would still be high.
In Stanley, independent houses are sold at about $10,000 per square foot and apartments for between $5,000 and $8,000 per square foot.
Another surveyor, Lai Chin-pang, estimated the value of the property at between $32 million and $35 million.
'It's based mainly on the site's redevelopment value, because the house is too old to interest people as a residence any more. Transportation is also inconvenient,' Mr Lai said.
Mr Pang said it was considered inauspicious to live in a house whose former owner had died.
The Tourism Board oversaw the house as a privately run tourist attraction which drew more than 30,000 visitors during the 15 months it was open, and still regards it as appealing to tourists.
However, the Teng family is adamant the house should be sold.
A spokeswoman for the Tourism Board, said: 'Yes, we saw the value. We cannot guess what the reaction would be if it continued to stay open. We haven't done any research because we knew from the beginning her family had decided not to keep the residence open for long.'
A TNT spokesman said Teng's family intended to build a museum or art institute in memory of her in Taiwan or Shanghai with the proceeds of the sale.
Cheung Yim-ling, chairwoman of Teng's fan club, said fans felt a sense of loss at the sale.
'We certainly wish what belonged to Teresa to stay forever,' she said.
