Henderson sees strong sales response to Double Cove project

Henderson Land Development and its partners sold about 80 per cent of the 330 newly launched flats at their Double Cove project in the first few hours yesterday, only a day before the government's new mortgage tightening measures came into effect after the United States announced a new stimulus plan.

Henderson Land said about 260 units at the Wu Kai Sha project, had been sold by 9.30pm. The sales began at about 5pm.

The sales included flats worth up to HK$11,000 per square foot, the company said. It expected 90 per cent of the flats would be sold on the first day.

"The sales were good because many people have been seeking homes. And the new round of quantitative easing [from the US] prompted more people to buy flats immediately as they anticipate prices will increase further," said Sammy Po Siu-ming, a director at property agency Midland Realty. The US has announced a loosening of monetary policy to boost its economy, which is expected to further stimulate the property market in Hong Kong.

In response, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced yesterday it was tightening lending requirements for home mortgages, including lowering the loan-value ratio on purchases of second homes and shortening the repayment period to up to 30 years.

The new rules apply to provisional sale and purchase agreements signed from today, meaning buyers who bought flats yesterday were not affected.

"A small number of people rushed to buy flats yesterday because of this reason," Po said.