HK’s rich families sell their own homes to cut debt

Hong Kong’s rich families are learning about the unpredictability of market downturns, with some having to sell the homes they live in to cut debt.

This week, a sea-view villa previously owned by wealthy businessman Chan Ping Che was listed by receivers for HK$430 million (S$70.9 million).

Meanwhile, investment firm Gale Well Group’s chief executive Jacinto Tong sold his penthouse apartment for HK$138 million in April, according to land registry filings.

Mr Chan, known as Hong Kong’s “King of Cassettes” for the source of his fortune, defaulted on a loan worth about HK$350 million in principal and interest from Fubon Bank Hong Kong earlier in 2025, he said in a phone interview on May 21. In April, receivers took over the mansion he and his family were living in since the 1980s.

Mr Chan had tried to sell the property since late 2023 but did not manage to find a buyer. 

Hong Kong has seen a flurry of mansion fire sales, following years of high interest rates and a property downturn.