Luxury home sales over the weekend saw their worst performance this year, with developers managing to sell just 20 per cent of 285 flats on offer at two high-end projects - The Riverpark and Providence Peak - as fewer mainland buyers and a rising credit crunch across the border begin to bite.
The poor response was also linked to last week's Hong Kong government warning that it would intervene in the market if prices continue to rise. A bearish stock market and tighter lending for luxury flats also kept local buyers away.
A total of 58 were sold over the weekend, of the 285 offered by New World Development's The Riverpark above Che Kung Temple MTR station in Sha Tin, and Sino Land's joint-venture development, Providence Peak, in Tai Po.
New World Development said 40 flats, or 29 per cent, of the 137 on offer at The Riverpark were sold, while Sino Land said 18 flats, or 12 per cent, of the 148 at Providence Peak were bought.
Following the poor response, New World last night released another 315 flats, with sizes between 660 sq ft and 964 sq ft, at prices as low as HK$5.2 million, an average of HK$8,430 per sq ft. That makes the latest batch of units cheaper by about 9 per cent than last week's first launch price. It also put on the market four flats at The Riverpark, with areas from 953 sq ft to 1,812 sq ft with price tags of HK$8.3 million to HK$20 million.
'This was the poorest sales performance so far this year. It will send a negative signal to the market,' said Sammy Po, a director of Midland Realty, adding that more homebuyers would stay on the sidelines as these two projects would have been a benchmark for the luxury segment.
Po noted mainlanders' buying interest for flats worth over HK$10 million seemed to be on the wane. Most units at The Riverpark and Providence Peak are being offered at between HK$10 million and HK$37 million each.
