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Further fall in sales expected

Property sales in the primary market dropped 20 per cent during the weekend and the slowdown is expected to continue this week, property agents estimate.

The primary market recorded more than 80 transactions during the weekend, compared with more than 100 units at the end of last month, according to agents.

Wong Leung-sing, an associate director of Centaline Property Agency's research department, said the sales of primary residential projects dropped significantly last week.

'The slowdown in the primary market was due to developers not launching new residential projects. The developers are waiting for the result of the land auction of the residential site in West Kowloon,' Mr Wong said.

As the price of the site in West Kowloon was lower than market expectation, he believed the developers would not raise prices.

He expected transactions in the primary market to remain stable this week.

Midland Realty chief economist Buggle Lau Ka-fai said the impact from the auction on the property market would be limited.

'The residential sites sold at the previous land auctions fetched higher than expected prices. But prices and transactions of projects in the districts remain stable,' Mr Lau said.

In the secondary market, Mr Lau expected transactions to remain stable this week.

'Many flat owners expected the property prices would increase and raised the asking prices of their units after the land auctions. It kept many home seekers away from the property market,' he said.

According to a research report by Ricacorp Properties, the major 50 estates in the secondary market recorded about 316 transactions last week, against 352 deals a week earlier.

Patrick Chow Moon-kit, a research manager at Ricacorp Properties, said the drop in transactions in the secondary market was due to the wait-and-see attitude by home seekers and private owners. 'They are waiting for the results of the land auctions this month,' he said.

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