Golf carts are not the ideal vehicles for everyday transport, but in Discovery Bay, they are more precious than Porsches, Teslas or any other expensive luxury car. In the US, the average price of a golf cart is almost $10,000. However, the same cart is sold for $250,000. This is more than the average price of a home. However, it is important to have one in this neighborhood as private passenger cars are not allowed in there. The residents of Discovery Bay need a golf cart and the short supply of the car made it reach the status of a luxury vehicle.
Buying a golf cart in the Discovery Bay is also a business investment. If you have bought a car in this neighborhood, you can rent it off to other residents or resell it for a good profit. Katie Jepson of real estate firm said, “If they’ve got an extra HK$2.5 million, instead of buying a small apartment you have to pay stamp duty on, people have been buying some golf carts.” The licenses for golf carts in Discovery Bay can only be owned by the residents who also have their own property in the Discovery Bay. But they can be traded between the residents.
An airline pilot who bought a golf cart said, “It’s a ridiculous amount of money, I know. But, I said, I have the cash. I can put it back into the property, but the market is berserk. Sitting in the bank it’s doing nothing. So I thought, why not? It’s not a bad return.” Golf carts are driven by everyone in the Discovery Bay. There are other public transportations and bicycles available in the area as well. However, if you want a private motorized transportation, the golf cart is the only option you have.
In other countries, the level of a neighborhood is measured by the kind of cars parked outside the houses. In Discovery Bay, it is the golf cart which determines that. The latest Yamaha electric buggy is considered as the Rolls Royce of the golf carts. Then comes the E-Z-GO by Textron and then Columbia ParCar. Katie Jepson said, “It’s become like a good golf cart is like driving a Maserati or a Porsche. Crazy, Only in Hong Kong.”
The Discovery Bay doesn’t allow the regular private cars since the developer of the town said that they want the area to be seen as a town which has the environment of a resort. After taking into account many options, they finally decided that golf cart is the best option for them. The golf carts might get much more expensive in Discovery Bay since they have already crossed the price of some really expensive luxurious cars. However, it also depends upon the government policy, if they didn’t increase the available number of licenses. Brian King, head of Headland Homes said, “There are no more golf carts, so as long as they keep putting more and more people here the price is not likely to change. It’s simply supply and demand.”