Prospective Hengqin buyers enter a zone of uncertainty
A residential project sprouting up amid the grasslands will test investors' risk appetite
Hengqin was a sleepy, laid-back island, hardly noticed by anyone as next-door neighbour Macau and its bustling casinos stole the limelight. But that all changed after it was designated a new economic zone with Nansha in Guangzhou and Qianhai in Shenzhen.
Yesterday, the Commerce Ministry's Shenzhen office said Guangzhou's Baiyun International Airport would join the three new zones to form a pilot free-trade zone in Guangdong. The plans are subject to State Council approval.
In Hengqin, land prices have surged to record levels since plans were unveiled to transform the island - formerly known for its oyster beds - into a tourism, creative/cultural, research and health care hub, with the goal of attracting up to 30 million visitors a year.
But what is there to see today in Hengqin? Hardly anything, judging from my visit to the island three weeks ago. The first thing that greeted me was a vast grassland amid which a solitary residential project was being built. Close to the checkpoint at Lotus Bridge, which connects the island to Macau, the half-built project, Sea of Dreams, will be the first development to be offered for sale.
Analysts say the launch price and sales outcome will serve as a guide to the outlook for the island's property market. The project will offer 1,800 units, with sizes ranging from 87 square metres to 220 square metres each, and 2,700 car parking spaces.
Mainland media reports said the developer was expected to offer the first batch of flats at 25,000 yuan (HK$31,400) per square metre, 66 per cent higher than the 15,000 yuan per square metre flats are fetching in Xiangzhou, Zhuhai's central area.