Two of Hong Kong's most prominent property developers - Sun Hung Kai Properties and Sino Land Co - painted a rosy picture of the property market yesterday, saying the recent correction in home prices was over.
In comments which ran counter to many observers' beliefs that property prices were in line for a further correction, senior executives at both companies insisted the market had reached bottom and suggested the time was right to start buying.
Sino Land Co chairman Robert Ng Chee Siong, speaking after the company's annual general meeting, said the market had changed slightly over the past few months as a result of the financial crisis but the worst was now over.
He said Hong Kong's sound economic foundations combined with strong backing from the mainland meant he was 'very positive about the property market in the next one to three years'.
His comments mirrored those of the Kwok brothers - owners of Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) - who also insisted the outlook for Hong Kong's real estate sector was positive.
Speaking after the company's annual general meeting, SHKP vice-chairman Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong said unfavourable factors such as the stock market crisis and interest rate rises caused a 10 to 20 per cent drop in home prices.
'I believe the worst moment has passed,' he said, adding that buyers' confidence would return once the present financial crisis had ended.
