bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

ANYONE looking for signs of a firm revival in the Hong Kong property market from the results of yesterday's government land auction will have been disappointed.

   Analysts felt that the result was not strong enough to provide Hong Kong's housing market with a kick-start.

   While the $1.02 billion price tag for the main Cox's Road residential site in Kowloon was at the upper end of expectations, it was not exceptional.

  Besides, the withdrawal of a commercial site in Sha Tin and two industrial-office (I/O) sites in Sha Tin and Kowloon Bay sent fears running through other sectors of the market.

  Commenting on the land sale results, the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Tony Eason, said that he was heartened by the enthusiastic bidding seen for both the Cox's Road and Stanley residential sites which sold at higher than the opening prices.

  'It is a very positive signal from the market that there is strong demand for prime residential sites.'   However, analysts were not impressed.

  They were comforted by the fact that despite depressed market sentiments, the good sites sold well.

  But they expressed disappointment at the lack of big-time developers raising their hands at the auction.

  While most of the big developers attended the event, most kept their hands firmly in their pockets, allowing smaller players to dominate.

  Sino Land, China Overseas Land & Investment and Paliburg Development were the only larger developers to enter the bidding.

  With a wealth of new development land coming on stream in the next few years, from various reclamations, and a string of new airport railway-related property developments, the larger developers were apparently being choosy and watching their pockets.

  The reason for that, according to Craig Stephen, an analyst with Cresvale Far East, is that the pre-sale of flats has not been going very well lately and perhaps developers did not want to commit more resources until sales pick up.

  While acknowledging that the two residential sites sold well, Lyall Alexander Webber, director of property consultants Vigers (Hong Kong), said: 'You cannot say the market is turning until you see bad sites selling well.'   Mr Eason said that the three non-residential sites were not sold, probably because developers preferred sites that they considered had better prospects.

  This is particularly so when they are aware that some good sites will be available for sale soon.

  Besides, the attractive residential site at King's Park Lane, Kowloon, which is due to be auctioned by the Government next month, developers are thought to be saving their money to tender for developments along the new Mass Transit Railway Corp airport railway.

  The 44,412 square foot Cox's Road site was sold to a private developer, Eton Properties, for an accommodation value of about $4,600 per sq ft.

  This would mean that to make a typical profit, the developer would have to sell apartments developed at the site for between $7,000 and $7,500 per sq ft.

  The other luxury site in Stanley was sold for almost twice some forecast estimated, for $58 million.

  Encompassing an area of 2,269 sq ft, this piece of land went for an accommodation value of $6,200 per sq ft, which Credit Lyonnais property analyst Benjamin Chan thought was too high and described as 'just crazy'.

  Analysts put the three withdrawals down to a combination of poor location and a looming heavy oversupply of I/O space.

  Mr Eason said: 'I will discuss the matter with the director of lands to find out whether there is anything we can do regarding the withdrawal of these sites.



Auction hopes dashed