Stamp duty 'a drag' on sales at luxury project

Sales of the 20 remaining special flats at luxury residential project Marinella were slowing because of the new buyer's stamp duty, the developers said yesterday.

"The sales plan has been interrupted," Wilson Chan Yuk-sing, director of sales and marketing at K. Wah International, said.

Jointly developed by K. Wah, Sino Land and Nan Fung Development, Marinella, in Shum Wan, has 411 units. All, except nine penthouses and 11 garden houses between 2,661 and 5,173 square feet, have been sold.

"Originally we planned to start selling the special units around the time when the project was completed, because potential buyers would want to see the flats first," Chan said. "But because of the introduction of the new levy more than a month ago, we have had to adjust our plan."

The project is completed, and the developers are now handing flats over to buyers. They would offer viewings of the remaining units next year. Chan said the 20 special flats were worth about HK$2.5 billion in total.

The new buyer's stamp duty, introduced in late October to cool the property market, imposed a levy of 15 per cent of the price on non-permanent residents and corporate buyers.