Projects starting before June to escape transparency sales rules

Buyers who want a more transparent flat-hunting experience could be disappointed, as new flats do not necessarily have to comply with the government's new measures to regulate sales, which take effect tomorrow.

The Transport and Housing Bureau told the South China Morning Post that residential projects for which sales started before June do not need to follow the new rules, even if they are still selling hundreds of completed new flats.

'We have to draw a line. Only those beginning sales in June have to follow the new rules,' a bureau spokesman said.

It means hundreds of completed new available on the market, including 360 flats at Festival City in Tai Wai, 200 flats at The Latitude in San Po Kong, the remaining flats of Aria Kowloon Peak in Choi Hung and Yoho Mid-town in Yuen Long can be exempted from the tighter measures.

Cheung Kong Holdings and Sun Hung Kai Properties said they would not provide unfurnished show flats as their projects, Festival City, The Latitude and Aria, had begun sales before the measures took effect.

Most show flats designed by developers do not represent the apartments eventually sold to buyers, as they often replace concrete walls with glass, use smaller furniture and remove all doors to give the impression of more space. A new requirement covering unfurnished flats aims to give buyers a clearer picture of what they pay for.