Buyers grab Sino Land's Tai Po flats
SINO Land Co, which recently paid record prices for residential land at government auctions, yesterday saw a sell-out of 81 flats at its Classical Gardens development in Tai Po.
The successful sale on the first day of offer reflected the strong buying support, apparently unaffected by the Government's intended moves to intervene in the overheated home market.
Sino Land originally offered 43 units at an average of $5,699 a square foot. Strong buying interest encouraged the developer to offer 38 more units and raise the average price to $5,761.
Eddie Yuen, senior manager of the Tai Po branch of Centaline Property Agency, said the sell-out of Classical Gardens could bolster the increase of home prices in Tai Po.
He said housing demand remained strong as supply was limited, and the Government's commitment to release more land would not have an immediate effect in containing home prices.
Lawrence Wong, the Tai Po branch manager of Midland Realty, said: ''The selling price of Classical Gardens has become a new indicator of residential prices in Tai Po.'' Among the buyers of the Classical Gardens flats, he said, were a large number of speculators.
On Thursday, Hutchison Whampoa's 120 flats in South Horizons, Ap Lei Chau, were snapped up immediately after their release.
Two other residential projects on sale yesterday were the Parc Oasis development in Yau Yat Chuen and the Lakeview Garden development in Sha Tin, but their sales results were not available.
Property agents said the sale of 77 flats in Parc Oasis and 24 units of Lakeview Garden was fair rather than strong.
They said neither sale drew as much interest because their prices were high and not because of the Government's promise to curb residential prices.
They said the government measures, such as the release of more land, would not be effective in controlling land prices in the short term.
One agent said: ''The market needs a period of time to consolidate.'' The 77 units of Parc Oasis, jointly developed by Wheelock Properties and Sino Land, are being offered at an average of $8,200 a square foot.
The price represents an increase of 34 per cent over the average of $6,100 for the previous offering in November last year.
The 24 units at Lakeview Garden, developed by Nan Fung Development, are going for an average of $6,554 a square foot.
