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Peggy Sito

Property developers yesterday painted a rosy picture of the future of the residential market, saying buyers are returning and the property correction is over.

 Henderson Land Development vice-chairman Colin Lam Ko-yin said: 'Home prices have reached bottom.'  His comments were echoed by Cheung Kong (Holdings) executive director Grace Woo who said home-seekers were returning and buying activity was rising.

 Mr Lam and Ms Woo were at yesterday's Government land auction.

 Neither took part in the bidding for the two small residential sites which added $101.6 million to Government coffers.

 Analysts were surprised by their presence and said developers were apparently making an effort to boost the residential market.

 They said Henderson and Cheung Kong were expected to launch new projects for sale soon.

 Mr Lam said Henderson would release about 3,000 flats between April and June. It plans to bring 10,000 to 12,000 units on line this year.

 The units to be sold in the next few months include the Neo Treasure City development in Tseung Kwan O and a project in Fanling.

 Mr Lam said buying sentiment was recovering after the Government stated it would consider rescheduling the timetable of its land sale programme.

 The Government's message of stability was 'very encouraging', Mr Lam said.

 It boosted investor interest in stocks and stabilised home-seekers' confidence in the property sector and the economy, he said.

 Ms Woo said: 'The move to reschedule . . . was a positive sign.'  She said the housing sector's future performance would largely depend on external economic factors.

 Ryoden Development executive director Tony Leung Ka-tung also said the market had become more active, as evidenced by the response from the recent sale of a number of projects.



Property developers say return of buyers a sign of confidence