Property sales top 10,000 on new projects
Improved buying sentiment and active primary residential project launches have boosted the number of property transactions to more than 10,000 last month, the highest in seven months, property agents estimate.
Total values were also expected to reach a 12-month high at HK$44.5 billion, they said.
Property agencies expect figures for this month will be better. Centaline Property Agency said property transactions would reach 12,000 this month even though it expected sales of primary homes would drop.
According to Midland Realty, the number of transactions, including residential, office, industrial and car parks, reached 10,620 in the first 28 days of last month.
This was 12.14 per cent higher than the figure achieved for the whole of March, Midland said.
Midland chief analyst Buggle Lau Ka-fai said the improved figure was helped mainly by the surge in home buying, which accounted for 85 per cent of transactions.
In the primary market, Midland said the number of deals rose 240 per cent to 2,057 in the month by April 28 compared with a month ago.
In the secondary market, the number of deals rose about 10 per cent from March to 7,005.
Centaline, which expects the Land Registry this week to announce that there were 10,900 property transactions last month, said improved home sales were characterised by active primary sales at new projects such as Sun Hung Kai Properties' Vineyard in Yuen Long and the sixth phase of Bel-Air development at Cyberport, Pok Fu Lam, developed by Pacific Century Premium Developments.
SHKP's 160-house development has almost sold out since being launched with selling prices between HK$5,000 and HK$9,500 per square foot.
PCPD sold about 600 units in the sixth phase of Bel-Air, with selling prices of HK$10,000 to HK$17,000 per square foot.
Midland said the number of deals from the beginning of the year to April 28 grew 26.6 per cent to 38,085, compared with 30,074 in the first four months of last year. Primary transactions grew 189.9 per cent to 4,766, compared with 1,644 deals in the same period last year. Transactions in the secondary market rose 20.8 per cent to 27,596 deals.
Looking ahead, property agents have a positive outlook. The continued improvement in the secondary market would offset the slowdown in primary sales, Centaline said.
New deals
Increase in primary market transactions in the first four months from a year ago: 190%
