Henderson raises home prices for new year
Henderson Land Development will be offering home buyers higher prices instead of lai see for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The developer had offered cash rebates of $68,000 to $98,000 to customers since the market turned sour in 1998.
But with the property market bouncing back, Henderson Land sees no need for the cash incentive and is raising prices for some of its residential units instead.
According to general manager Donald Cheung Ping-keung, the price increase of up to 5 per cent will not take place until after the Lunar New Year holidays. Units to be affected include those in Paradise Square in Mongkok and La Casetta in Tuen Mun.
'This is what many developers are doing: cutting the sweeteners and then raising the price,' Mr Cheung said.
He said the target price for 2,000 new units in Sai Wan Ho to be sold this year would be increased from $5,000 per square foot to between $5,200 and $5,300 per square foot.
New World Development also announced a price rise yesterday, saying prices for its Parc Palais project in King's Park, Kowloon, would be increased 5 per cent to about $6,000 per square foot. Sales and marketing director Barbara Ho said about 50 units worth $380 million had been sold last week.
Hang Lung Properties also painted a rosy picture of the property market, unveiling a slow sales schedule for its four residential projects, indicating it was confident prices would rise later.
Hang Lung assistant marketing director Wilson Wong said it planned to sell 4,755 units over the next three years. 'We expect steady growth for residential prices, therefore we want to sell slowly,' he said.
But analysts offered another reason for the go-slow approach: Hang Lung has the lowest land bank among major developers with 3.55 million square feet, compared with Sun Hung Kai Properties' 15.38 million sq ft.
