Hang Lung Long Beach project lifts West Kowloon home prices 10pc
Property owners at West Kowloon raised their asking prices by about 10 per cent after Hang Lung Properties announced it was offering its completed residential project there for far more than the prevailing secondary transaction prices, according to agents.
After leaving the 1,800-unit Long Beach in Tai Kok Tsui idle for three years, the developer will release the project on the market tomorrow in the hope that the stunning government land auction result on Monday would fuel higher prices.
The first batch of 28 Long Beach apartments - between 743 sq ft and 753 sq ft in Tower Five with harbour views and two bedrooms - is being offered at between HK$6,139 per square foot and HK$7,578 per sq ft or a total of HK$4.61 million to HK$7.57 million each.
That is about 16 to 30 per cent more than the average price of HK$5,567 to HK$5,800 per square foot at nearby residential projects such as Island Harbourview above Olympic Station.
Donald Cheng, sales manager at Midland Realty, said the developer was pitching the project at a premium to secondary transaction prices because about 70 per cent of Long Beach units had a sea view.
'No existing two-bedroom flats command a sea view in the area,' he said, adding the firm had received 50 reservations for Long Beach units ahead of the official sale.
Kenneth Lam Wai-man, sales director at Centaline Property Agency's West Kowloon branch, said many owners had either held back units from sale or increased the asking price by 10 per cent in anticipation of home prices being boosted by the aggressive pricing of the Long Beach development.
To drum up interest, Hang Lung is offering a long completion date of six months to 12 months, allowing time for short-term speculators to re-sell the flat even before arranging a mortgage loan.
Mr Lam said he believed about 70 per cent of interested buyers would opt for the 12-month completion period despite the developer charging an additional 5 per cent on top of the listed price.
Terry Ng Sze-yuan, executive director at Hang Lung Properties, said the firm would not release all the 1,800 units on the market in one go, retaining some for sale next year and in 2009.
