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Yvonne Liu

Henderson Land reels in buyers after adopting 'reasonable' price strategy under new rules for selling unfinished flats

Henderson Land Development has attracted positive response to its Grand Waterfront residential development in To Kwa Wan after adopting  revised guidelines to pre-sell uncompleted flats.

The developer said it had sold 450  units since Friday at an average of HK$5,200 per square foot.

Property agents said the new sales guidelines improved  transparency while leaving some room for improvement.

Although the infrastructure   had not been well developed, agents said  prospective buyers were lured by the 'reasonable' prices -  comparable   with the asking price for flats in the secondary market.

The project, developed by a joint venture  of Henderson and Hong Kong and China Gas, is the first residential project  to follow the new guidelines on the sale of unfinished flats.

On Friday, developers and the government agreed that at least 20 units or 20 per cent of the first batch of flats in a new project - whichever is the higher - be put up for initial sale.

Vendors  are required to have a price list ready 24 hours before the sale, and for subsequent sales a list has to be published immediately after  a sale is announced.  Previously, the price list and the list of units on offer  must be available at the sales office and through estate agents.

Following the new guidelines, the developers of Grand Waterfront  released the price lists on  Thursday and sold the  units on  Saturday.

Property agents said  buyers and agents  got the price list for the first batch of flats 24 hours before the sale, although the price list was not immediately available for the subsequent batches.

'The sale arrangement has  improved,  and this has helped agents provide enough information to  potential buyers,' said Shih Wing-ching, the chairman of Centaline (Holdings), the parent company of Centaline Property. 'But the developer has to release the price lists early for the subsequent batches of flats.'

A spokesman for the Consumer Council said on Monday it had not received complaints on the sale arrangement for Grand Waterfront.

The 1,782-unit project is the largest residential project  from Henderson this year.

In promoting the project, the developer highlights the use of state-of-the-art technology and building materials, including Leicht kitchen furniture, Miele electrical products and intelligent home equipment.

Henderson also hired Jennifer Hawkins, the winner of the 2004 Miss Universe pageant, to feature in the marketing campaign.

'Despite the competition in the primary market, the construction cost of the project is about HK$1,400 to HK$1,500 per square foot,   HK$300 to HK$400 per square foot  higher than  other projects,' said Tony Tse Wai-chuen, Henderson's general manager of sales.

One of the duplex units fetched  HK$11,684 per square foot, which is the  highest on record in the district.

'Although several mass residential projects have been released in the past two months, the market response  to Grand Waterfront is positive because of the reasonable prices,' Mr Shih said. 'If the developer released the  units in the middle of last year,  they could ask for a premium of 20 per cent to 30 per cent  over the present price.

'The first 100 buyers can return the flats within two months without giving any reason. This gimmick gives the impression that the developer is quite confident about its pricing. However, buyers would lose the stamp duty and the opportunity cost if they returned the units.'

Property agents said the average price of units at Sky Tower, which is in the same area, was HK$4,100 per square foot in the secondary market, while  prices  at Grand Waterfront, which has a  better location,  ranged from HK$4,200 to HK$5,500 per square foot. However,  buyers have to face a low efficiency ratio  of about 71 per cent only (excluding the bay window area).

Traffic jam is a  problem, and the plan to extend a rail line near the area is still uncertain.   A bus ride to Central during peak hours takes at least an hour.

The developer had promised to arrange a route by ferry from the project to Central, but nothing has come out of this plan.

A spokesman for the Transport Department said: 'The government   has not received any application to launch the route.  Operating the route would be against the law without approval of the Transport Department.'

The project comprises five 51-storey residential blocks,  providing 1,782 units with  sizes  ranging from 462 to 846 square feet.



Positive response to Grand Waterfront