Hong Kong nano flats sell well, with low-cost offering for young buyers
Developers sell 175 of 204 new flats in a day
The developer of a new housing project offering micro flats in Tuen Mun sold nearly 90 per cent of its units on Saturday as it attracted young buyers through relatively low prices.
Of 204 flats at COO Residence, 175 were sold by Saturday night. There were 2,200 prospective buyers registered in advance, for the flats which range in size from 217 sq ft to 372 sq ft.
Prices started at HK$2.88 million, attracting many first-time buyers.
Developer Couture Homes, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed CSI Properties, said about 80 per cent of those who registered were young buyers.
Property agents said the scheme could hardly cool the hot property market. “It will take at least three to four years for the government to bring these flats to the market,” said Louis Chan, Centaline Property Agency’s managing director for residential sales.
Centaline’s Centa-City leading index of home prices surged to another record high of 161.36 on August 27. The index has climbed 11 per cent this year and more than 50 per cent in the past five years.
Chan predicted that home prices would climb 5 to 8 per cent in the second half of the year.
“As the US Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates within the year, we are still bullish on the property market till year-end,” Chan said.
Earlier this week, buyers snapped up 97 per cent of flats on offer at The Amused, a nano flat development in Cheung Sha Wan built by Emperor International and the Urban Renewal Authority.