Property analysts say supplies are still abundant and buyer sentiment buoyant
The stock of new and available residential properties shrank slightly to 54,000 units last month compared with three months earlier, but industry observers expect an adequate supply of private housing for at least the next 18 months.
Government data also shows construction work had started on 3,100 units at the end of last month, down from 3,500 a quarter ago, while 7,300 homes were completed in the second quarter compared to 3,900 in March.
'You cannot read too much into the data,' surveyor Pang Shiu-kee said. 'The overall decline is not significant and this is a lump sum figure which does not include a district-by-district breakdown.'
He stressed that 54,000 units still represents a lot of supply but noted that developers were increasingly exploiting positive sentiment among homebuyers. So far this year no units have been pre-sold, whereas pre-sales reached 1,000 last year and 2,000 in 2003.
'We're not seeing any dumping in the market like we did before. So, even though there is no shortage in the supply, developers can capitalise on the more positive buyer sentiment,' Mr Pang said.
Vigers Appraisal and Consulting executive director Tony Chan Tung-ngok said that while there had not been a government land sale for eight months, tenders in the pipeline for residential projects along the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp's rail lines, such as in Wu Kai Sha, would continue to feed supplies.
