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Joseph Lo

End-user interest is up at the South Horizons development in Ap Lei Chau, but property agents warn prices have yet to hit bottom.

 The number of viewers for flats has been increasing steadily over the past two weeks as falling prices have made flats more attractive for end-users.

 Ricacorp Properties' South Horizons area manager Simon Yuen Pak-man estimated the development recorded about 20 transactions last week, up from about 10 per week in the first half of the month.

 He said, however, most owners and prospective buyers were far apart on a price.

 'Owners are asking between $8,500 to $9,000 per square foot, but real prices are still only at around $7,600 to $7,700 per sq ft,' he said.

 Midland Realty's South Horizons assistant sales manager Kelvin Mok Kin-cheong said: 'July was one of the quietest months we have ever had here, with only 78 units transacted, but it's steadily got better.'  Mr Yuen said transaction levels in August showed an increase to 104 units because of confirmor-type speculators trying to dump their contracts before they were due for completion.

 'They were willing to cut prices by up to 20 per cent,' he said.

 Average prices have been on a steady decline since June, falling from $7,700 per sq ft to $7,300 per sq ft.

 A 979 sq ft sea-view unit sold last week for $8.1 million, or $8,274 per sq ft, while a 908 sq ft cemetery-view unit sold for $5.9 million, or $6,500 per sq ft.

 Mr Mok said there were more than 1,300 units on the market, up from 1,000 during May and June when prices and transaction levels were at record highs.

 'Realistically, people who bought in as medium-term investors want to sell their flats now because they can't see the market significantly rising over the next couple of months,' he said.

 Mr Yuen said these people were willing to drop their asking prices by up to 5 per cent because they had bought into the market before the prices skyrocketed in the first half of the year and now wanted to cash out.

 'They will still have made a hefty profit because average prices in September of last year were only about $5,200 per sq ft,' he said.

 There are about 9,600 units in the Hutchison Whampoa-built development - the average unit age is between 1.5 and six years.

 Mr Mok said the cheapest units were the 20 per cent that looked out on to the Chinese Permanent Cemetery in Aberdeen.

 'Those flats, which are mostly small flats between 700 to 900 sq ft, can be had for the low $6,000 per sq ft range,' he said.

 The best flats are the 25 per cent facing south towards the ocean, which typically are about 1,100 sq ft.

 Mr Mok said the small units were still the most actively sought out by end-users due to their relatively cheap price.

 There also had been an increase in rental interest, he said.

 The range of prices for rental units is between $22 to $30 per sq ft per month, although the majority of units fall in the $24 to $25 per sq ft average.



South Horizons price dip raises allure for end-users