Who can win Hong Kong’s real estate? Blogger’s ‘real prices’ Monopoly board highlights homeownership pipe dream

Imagine forking out just $4,000 to own Victoria Peak. Or the whole of Lantau Island for $600. Even in 2007 when the latest version of Hasbro’s Monopoly was released, these amounts couldn’t afford to rent a room, let alone buy a plot of land.

This might just be Monopoly money, but even with the most valuable currency these amounts would not be able to buy you property in Hong Kong.

The first version of Hong Kong Monopoly in 1991 listed Victoria Peak at $400, so the tenfold price hike is more than believable.

Justin Cheuk, a 22-year-old postgrad law student, recently created a “real prices” version of Hong Kong Monopoly, basing averages for price-per-square-foot on figures between September and November last year. As a result, The Peak is valued at more than HK$44,000.

READ MORE: How Monopoly came to dominate board games

“I thought the iconic [Monopoly] image would be a useful guide on property, something that dominates Hong Kong lives,” he said, adding that last year marked the 80th anniversary for the family game.