From tacky furniture to golf club membership, you have heard of gimmicky gifts that developers offer to entice people to buy shoebox flats. But this one from Chow Tai Fook, developer of Grand Villa in Tin Hau, takes the cake.
The group, controlled by tycoon Cheng Yu-tung, is desperately trying to offload two remaining flats in the three-year-old estate in Tin Hau Temple Road, according to a Ricacorp Property agent who specialises in the area.
The last two flats, selling for more than HK$3.5 million, are offering to pay for a domestic helper, along with a free secretarial service, for two years for their buyers. But no, the developer was not offering the pretty model in a school uniform in the ad (pictured) as the maid.
That picture is, we surmise, supposed to stress that the location is close to several elite schools such as King's College.
'They are trying to get rid of the last two new flats from the building,' the property agent said.
'I have never heard of such offers in my 10 years working as an agent. But the market is getting very competitive. When you have property executives dressing up like Elvis to entertain potential buyers and hiring Miss Universe to advertise new developments, I guess it's anything goes.'