COLIN SIMPSON
Discovery Bay, Lantau
YOU’RE in the market for a new ride and have $250,000 to spend? How about a gleaming new Ferrari Portofino, which costs from $214,000 in the US? Or a fresh-from-the-factory Lamborghini Huracan – they start at $203,000.
Maybe an Aston Martin Rapide S, that’ll set you back $208,000. Or, for a little bit more, you could get… a second-hand golf buggy.
No, this is not some sort of alternative reality, there really is a place where a humble golf cart costs more than a top-of-the-range luxury sports car. Prices start at around two million Hong Kong dollars – equal to more that US$250,000.
Discovery Bay is a residential area on the island of Lantau in Hong Kong where private cars are banned. Golf buggies are allowed, though the number is strictly limited. Only 490 licenses to own a buggy are available, and they were all snapped up a long time ago.
To obtain a licence you have to own a property in the development – known to locals as Disco Bay – and buy a buggy from an existing authorised owner. Over the years, in a startling demonstration of the law of supply and demand, the cost of a cart has risen steadily in tandem with Hong Kong’s booming property market.
According to the South China Morning Post, it topped the million Hong Kong dollar mark in 2009 and raced passed two million – that’s equal to $255,000 US dollars – two years later.
The number of licences was capped by the Hong Kong Transport Department because of fears that local roads could be overwhelmed by buggies and limitations on parking space. Buyers use the vehicles for business, generally getting around, or to rent out. Discovery Bay is popular with well-off professionals including pilots – Hong Kong’s airport is nearby – who can comfortably afford the sky-high prices.
A local agent who sells and rents buggies and uses one for business said a cart could fetch HK$7,000 rent a month – some are advertised at higher prices – and there was also the prospect, amazingly, of further appreciation. He told me he sold a buggy a couple of months previously for HK$1,950,000 and that was seen as something of a bargain – normally they fetch more than HK$2 million, and not many become available.
In the UK a new golf cart costs around £7,000, while in the US the price is around $7,000.
Oh, and if you want to use a buggy for its intended purpose, you’ll be pleased to hear that Discovery Bay has a very nice golf course.
Updated May 2020
Ferrari photo by Toby Parsons/Pixabay.
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COLIN SIMPSON
Discovery Bay, Lantau Island
YOU’RE in the market for a new ride and have $250,000 to spend? How about a gleaming new Ferrari Portofino, which costs from $214,000 in the US? Or a fresh-from-the-factory Lamborghini Huracan – they start at $203,000.
Maybe an Aston Martin Rapide S, that’ll set you back $208,000. Or, for a little bit more, you could get… a second-hand golf buggy.
No, this is not some sort of alternative reality, there really is a place where a humble golf cart costs more than a top-of-the-range luxury sports car. Prices start at around two million Hong Kong dollars – equal to more that US$250,000.
Discovery Bay is a residential area on the island of Lantau in Hong Kong where private cars are banned. Golf buggies are allowed, though the number is strictly limited. Only 490 licenses to own a buggy are available, and they were all snapped up a long time ago.
To obtain a licence you have to own a property in the development – known to locals as Disco Bay – and buy a buggy from an existing authorised owner. Over the years, in a startling demonstration of the law of supply and demand, the cost of a cart has risen steadily in tandem with Hong Kong’s booming property market.
According to the South China Morning Post, it topped the million Hong Kong dollar mark in 2009 and raced passed two million – that’s equal to $255,000 US dollars – two years later.
The number of licences was capped by the Hong Kong Transport Department because of fears that local roads could be overwhelmed by buggies and limitations on parking space. Buyers use the vehicles for business, generally getting around, or to rent out. Discovery Bay is popular with well-off professionals including pilots – Hong Kong’s airport is nearby – who can comfortably afford the sky-high prices.
A local agent who sells and rents buggies and uses one for business said a cart could fetch HK$7,000 rent a month – some are advertised at higher prices – and there was also the prospect, amazingly, of further appreciation. He told me he sold a buggy a couple of months previously for HK$1,950,000 and that was seen as something of a bargain – normally they fetch more than HK$2 million, and not many become available.
In the UK a new golf cart costs around £7,000, while in the US the price is around $7,000.
Oh, and if you want to use a buggy for its intended purpose, you’ll be pleased to hear that Discovery Bay has a very nice golf course.
Updated May 2020
Ferrari photo by Toby Parsons/Pixabay.
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Golf Buggy That Costs More Than a FERRARI
COLIN SIMPSON
Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
YOU’RE in the market for a new ride and have $250,000 to spend? How about a gleaming new Ferrari Portofino, which costs from $214,000 in the US? Or a fresh-from-the-factory Lamborghini Huracan – they start at $203,000.
Maybe an Aston Martin Rapide S, that’ll set you back $208,000. Or, for a little bit more, you could get… a second-hand golf buggy.
No, this is not some sort of alternative reality, there really is a place where a humble golf cart costs more than a top-of-the-range luxury sports car. Prices start at around two million Hong Kong dollars – equal to more that US$250,000.
Discovery Bay is a residential area on the island of Lantau in Hong Kong where private cars are banned. Golf buggies are allowed, though the number is strictly limited. Only 490 licenses to own a buggy are available, and they were all snapped up a long time ago.
To obtain a licence you have to own a property in the development – known to locals as Disco Bay – and buy a buggy from an existing authorised owner. Over the years, in a startling demonstration of the law of supply and demand, the cost of a cart has risen steadily in tandem with Hong Kong’s booming property market.
According to the South China Morning Post, it topped the million Hong Kong dollar mark in 2009 and raced passed two million – that’s equal to $255,000 US dollars – two years later.
The number of licences was capped by the Hong Kong Transport Department because of fears that local roads could be overwhelmed by buggies and limitations on parking space. Buyers use the vehicles for business, generally getting around, or to rent out. Discovery Bay is popular with well-off professionals including pilots – Hong Kong’s airport is nearby – who can comfortably afford the sky-high prices.
A local agent who sells and rents buggies and uses one for business said a cart could fetch HK$7,000 rent a month – some are advertised at higher prices – and there was also the prospect, amazingly, of further appreciation. He told me he sold a buggy a couple of months previously for HK$1,950,000 and that was seen as something of a bargain – normally they fetch more than HK$2 million, and not many become available.
In the UK a new golf cart costs around £7,000, while in the US the price is around $7,000.
Oh, and if you want to use a buggy for its intended purpose, you’ll be pleased to hear that Discovery Bay has a very nice golf course.
Updated May 2020
Ferrari photo by Toby Parsons/Pixabay.
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NIGHTMARE BUDDHAS: You may think of Buddha as a jolly, fat figure that brings peace and joy to the world. Visit this monastery and you’ll think again. Some of the golden statues of Buddhas… READ MORE
THE MUCH-LOVED HONG KONG MUSEUM OF ART has finally reopened after a massive four-year refurbishment – and it’s a triumph. READ MORE
WATCHING PINK DOLPHINS: Yes, there really are pink dolphins in the waters around Hong Kong, and regular boat trips mean you can watch them frolicking… READ MORE
STUNNING NEW OPERA HOUSE: Cantonese opera is reckoned to date back to the 13th century, but in December 2018 it arrived in the 21st century with a bang. That’s when the HK$2.7 billion ($255 million) Xiqu Centre, an ultra-modern venue… READ MORE
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SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
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