Sales strategy pays off for developer
Hang Lung Properties, one of the most aggressive developers undertaking residential projects in West Kowloon, has been adopting a high-price strategy to sell properties.
The strategy is to sell at higher prices often in small batches instead of volume sales over a short period. This was clear in the sales campaigns of The HarbourSide and The Long Beach. While the projects were completed four years ago, only about one-third of the units have been sold.
The HarbourSide, above Kowloon Station, provides 1,122 flats ranging from about 1,000 to 3,000 sqft each in three residential towers.
Two-bedroom and three-bedroom units measure from 1,070 to 1,450 sqft, while duplex and four-bedroom units range from 2,200 to 3,000sqft. About 360 flats had been released in phases and sold, a Hang Lung spokesman said.
The Long Beach, at 8 Hoi Fai Road on the waterfront area of Olympic Station, comprises 1,829 units in eight residential towers. Two-bedroom and three-bedroom units range from 700 to 1,100 sqft. Duplex and five-bedroom units measure from 1,500 to 2,000 sqft.
The first phase of The Long Beach units went on sale in the fourth quarter of last year and more than 600 flats in Towers 3, 5 and 6 were sold at an average price of about HK$7,100 per sqft.
A spokesman for the group said it was not in a hurry to sell all the flats immediately.
'The government has been investing a lot of resources in infrastructure developments in West Kowloon, a large reclamation area supported by well-thought out strategic planning. We believe the area is destined to become the transport, entertainment and cultural hub of Hong Kong,' he said.
For The HarbourSide and The Long Beach, the group planned to market the remaining 2,000 units in phases, possibly in the coming two to three years, the spokesman said.
Hang Lung's patience has helped generate substantial profits for the two projects. When the first batch of units at The HarbourSide went on sale in 2004, the average selling price was about HK$9,000 per sqft. The price for standard units reached about HK$17,000 per sqft in the second half of last year. Several high-floor units this year fetched about HK$35,000 per sqft, with one unit selling at HK$38,000 per sqft.
Hang Lung entered into a joint venture deal with MTR Corp for The HarbourSide development in 1999. The developer acquired The Long Beach development site for HK$2.58 billion in a public auction in December 2000.It has built another residential project AquaMarine in West Kowloon. Located at 8 Sham Shing Road, a few minutes' walk from Nam Cheong MTR Station. The project provides 1,616 units in five residential towers. Most of the flats have been sold.
