BUYERS have oversubscribed by four times the registration programme for a villa complex near Yuen Long, even though the asking price has jumped 33 per cent in a year. The developer of Kingswood Villa, in Tin Shui Wai, Cheung Kong, said the registration of potential home buyers was going very well. Registration began on Monday and ends today at 5:30 pm. But experts believe the $2,800-per-square-foot price is about 33 per cent higher than would have been charged this time last year. The 150 flats are expected to be completed in a year's time. They are part of Hong Kong's largest mass residential housing scheme. More than 10,000 flats are already completed. Tommy Yuen, head of Cheung Kong's advertising department, estimated that to date more than 7,000 units were occupied. The rest were bought as investments, he said. Flats on sale are two-bedroom units of 576 sq ft, and 710 sq ft; and three-bedroom flats of 815 sq ft. Despite the asking price, analysts say the flats are still cheap enough to compensate for their rural location. ''I think Kingswood Villa will be 10 times oversubscribed by the time the last of the registrations is accepted,'' said Virginia Wai, associate director for agencies with Colliers Jardine. The asking price of $2,800 per sq ft was well within the means of rich investors who were looking for a good investment, she said, and they would simply wait for their asset to appreciate. As the flats were far from the city, they would attract people who worked in China, she said. Many people would find the villas cheap compared to urban prices, she said.
