Speculators seek quick returns from Queen's Terrace

Speculation made a rare reappearance in the Hong Kong property market yesterday as traders sought quick profit from the heavily oversubscribed Queen's Terrace development in Sheung Wan.

However, trading was relatively muted and pickings thin compared with the height of the pre-1997 property boom, agents said.

Queen's Terrace, which drew 12,783 registrations for about 800 public-sale flats, is expected to sell out when it goes on sale today. Developers Cheung Kong (Holdings) and New World Development brought strong interest by pricing the first 18 flats at a rock-bottom HK$2,659 per square foot - below the development cost and secondary market prices in the area.

The developers also allowed buyers to put in as many as 10 registrations on payment of a HK$60,000 deposit, a strategy critics said was designed to encourage speculation. The right to buy in public sales is determined by a ballot, giving buyers who are drawn early in the sequence the chance to profit by selling their purchase coupons.

Agents said about 100 purchase rights were on offer yesterday. Several coupons were traded by yesterday evening and net gains were HK$12,000 to HK$80,000, Centaline Property Agency regional manager Derek Lau said.

The No 3 purchase coupon sold for a profit of HK$50,000 and No 45 for HK$25,000, he said.

Mr Lau estimated that 20 to 30 per cent of all registrations were from speculators and predicted more trading in coupons today.