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Peggy Sito

Yvonne Liu

Ten new residential and commercial sites  are being offered to developers. They take to 47 the number of sites on offer in the coming year.

If all are sold, the government would pocket  HK$17 billion, property agents say.

Developers, including Wheelock Property, and property consultants were disappointed by the number and quality of the sites added to the land application list, having expected more plots for luxury development in urban areas and more commercial plots in central business districts to meet growing demand.

Under the application-list system, a developer can trigger an auction for a site by bidding at least 80 per cent of its reserve price - which the government does not disclose.

Of the 47 sites, 33  are for residential development - nine each on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, and 15 in the New Territories and outlying islands - and can accommodate 13,000 homes, Director of Lands Patrick Lau Lai-chiu  said.

Ricky Wong Yiu-kwong, executive director of Wheelock Property, said: 'The number of sites added to the list is below expectations. That may not fulfil the demand from developers.' He had expected the government to add up to 15 sites.

Charles Chan Chiu-kwok, managing director for Savills Valuation and Professional Services, said: 'It is a disappointing list.'

But Mr Lau argued that taking into account the sites rolled over from this year, there were sufficient prime sites available. And Cheung Kong (Holdings) executive director Grace Woo Chia-ching said the variety of sites on the list would meet the needs of different developers.

Property consultants said one of the most sought-after of the new sites  would be a 238,313  sq ft plot in Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po, where two other sites were sold this week for HK$5.61 billion.

Midland Realty estimated the 10 sites could sell for HK$16.85 billion.  In the current financial year, the government has sold nine sites at auction, raising HK$19.42 billion.



Additions to land plots for sale disappoint some developers