Salenda Lau, the general manager of sales and marketing at Sino Land, said more than 500 flats had been sold since the 964-unit development first went on the market on June 26.

According to market sources, about 140 to 150 units of the 180 offered at an average of HK$11,553 per square foot were sold yesterday.

Of the total, Lau said all 15 studio flats and all 26 two-bedroom units had been sold in the latest batch.

The 15 studio flats, each with a gross area of 415 sq ft, were on sale for HK$4.31 million to HK$5.02 million or between HK$10,398 and HK$12,113 per square foot.

The two-bedroom flats ranged from 698 to 736 sq ft, with a price of HK$6.59 million to HK$7.75 million, or between HK$9,452 and HK$11,107 per square foot.

The remaining 139 range in size from 1,003 to 1,672 sq ft, with a price of HK$9.05 million to HK$23.1 million, or between HK$9,005 and HK$14,889 per square foot.

The Hermitage, a new residential project in Tai Kok Tsui, is scheduled to be completed by the end of March next year.

Hong Kong Property Services (Agency) chief executive Richard Lee Chi-shing believed the unsold units at the development were mainly larger apartments which had their views blocked by existing residential projects.

'Smaller units are the most popular among buyers,' Lee said.

Some who were unable to buy at the Hermitage had turned to nearby developments.

'Transactions in Olympic station have been more active since last week,' Lee said.

He believed about 20 per cent of buyers at the Hermitage are investors who bought under company names.

Agents said there were 70 units at the Hermitage up for resale at 10 to 20 per cent more than their purchase price.

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The Hermitage is a 964-unit residential project in Tai Kok Tsui

Sino Land released 180 units at 11am yesterday and, by noon, the company had sold: 100