Wary buyers force developers to think on a smaller scale
Players are reducing their exposure to a potential drop in sales revenue by releasing projects with fewer flats
Hong Kong developers are having to think up new strategies to sell their properties as investors and end-users hesitate to enter the home market amid concerns of further interest rate rises.
Developers were testing the market by selling projects with fewer flats, rather than launching large-scale developments, property consultants said.
Ricacorp Properties executive director Willy Liu Wai-keung said developers were turning to small developments to minimise their losses as a result of a fall in property revenues.
'They do not have to face a big loss even if the sale of these developments has a poor response,' he said.
Centaline (Holdings) chairman Shih Wing-ching said: 'Developers are hesitant to launch large projects while the market [outlook is uncertain]. It would affect the total revenue of developers if the sale of projects recorded a poor response in the first stage.'