Investor interest in Hong Kong properties has surged in recent weeks, driving prices sharply higher in all sectors despite lingering uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery.

At the office market bellwether Lippo Centre in Admiralty, the cost of buying office space had soared 75% in just four months to HK$14,000 per square foot from a bottom of HK$7,300 in January.

In the retail market, sales volumes rose 49.8% to HK$2.18bn in May from HK$1.45bn in April - a 10-month record high.

And in the luxury residential market, prices at Dynasty Court in Mid-Levels climbed 18% to HK$13,450 per square foot in May from HK$11,421 in December last year - the trough since the outbreak of the global financial crisis.

'The rebound in prices in the office market has been beyond the expectations of all agents,' said Desmond Poon Chi-ming, an associate director of property agency Chartersince Realty (International).

South China Morning Post