Developers to test mood of market with releases
Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) is hoping to reap $2 billion in revenue from the sale of 688 units at its new residential development in Ap Lei Chau.
SHKP plans to put the units up for public sale at its Sham Wan Towers project later this month, SHKP subsidiary Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency general manager Eric Chow Kwok-yin said.
Other developers including Swire Properties, PCCW Infrastructure and Regal Hotels International are also planning to sell new flats this month in a bid to cash in on improved market sentiment.
The releases are being seen as a barometer for gauging the mood of the housing market.
Mr Chow said the company might announce the selling price of the Sham Wan flats next week. He said it would share profits from the sale of two of the three towers with the government, while SHKP would keep the profit from the sale of the third tower.
Sham Wan Towers was one of two mixed housing development projects awarded by the government to private developers in 2000 under a pilot scheme aimed at improving the quality of subsidised housing. The other mixed development, built by Hang Lung Properties, is in West Kowloon.
The two sites were sold at a discount to encourage developers to take part in the pilot scheme.
Sham Wan Towers' three residential blocks contain 1,040 units. Completion is expected in the first half of next year.
Meanwhile, SHKP and Cheung Kong (Holdings) yesterday also announced new preferential financing terms for the upcoming sale of their joint-venture development The Pacifica in Cheung Sha Wan.
Buyers can apply for a mortgage lending rate as low as 3.625 per cent below prime, now at 5 per cent, in the first year.
