bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Sandy Li

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s policy speech on housing on October 10 has bruised sentiment in the sector, with some owners now being reported to have shaved a whopping 30 per cent off their asking prices as a result.
Commentators say the free fall in stock markets, rising borrowing costs and the worsening US-China trade war have also spooked homebuyers away from what remains the world’s most expensive property market.
And there was a markedly tepid response to two new housing releases in the past two weekends.
“This all indicates individual owners are worried that market sentiment will sour further,” said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties.
Opinion: Don't be put off by a softening property market - Hong Kong can handle it
Last Monday, a 1,567 square feet flat at Celestial Heights in Ho Man Tin sold for HK$27.5 million (US$3.5 million), or HK$17,549 per sq ft, about 30 per cent below recent prices achieved in the area.
“The unit sold within 24 hours. The owner is probably in financial stress and wanted to sell,” said a spokesman for Midland Realty.

Another two adjoining flats, with a combined area of 1,189 sq ft, at Mantin Heights in Ho Man Tin are now being offered at HK$26 million, or HK$21,867 per sq ft. Midland said the asking price was 20 per cent lower than the original.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Lam’s ambitious plans for the city include extensive reclamation work that could provide 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) of land off the east of Lantau Island, part of the wider HK$500 billion Lantau Tomorrow Vision blueprint, to turn the city’s largest outlying island into a residential and business hub. The area could house up to 1.1 million people in the next two to three decades.
“The government’s housing measures mainly focus on long-term solutions to ease Hong Kong’s housing shortage,” added Tommy Ng, associate district manager at Midland Realty’s Tin Shui Wai branch. “But a sharp fall in stock prices should have an immediate impact in dampening buying demand.”
Home sales flop as sentiments cool in Hong Kong’s property market
Some units at Kingswood Villa, another project in Tin Shui Wai and one of Hong Kong’s top 10 sellers, have sold for below HK$10,000 per sq ft, he said.
“The number of units sold there dropped by more than half to 20 deals in September from 50 before the escalation of the US-China trade war, and the stock market volatility,” Ng said.
He said most homebuyers are now asking for a further 20 per cent cut on top of owners’ revised asking prices.
“It is extremely difficult to close a deal as price gaps between owners and buyers widen,” Ng added.


Meanwhile, sales at some projects have virtually ground to a halt, as some prospective buyers wait for price information at nearby sites to better gauge costs.
That is bad news for a number of projects set to be launched in the coming days, but potentially the opposite for buyers.
It is extremely difficult to close a deal as price gaps between owners and buyers widen
Tommy Ng, associate district manager at Midland Realty’s Tin Shui Wai branch
Chinachem Group is expected to cut the prices of its new project Sol City, atop the Long Ping subway station in Yuen Long on Tuesday, just one stop away from Tin Shui Wai.
“That could mean another severe blow to market sentiment,” Ng said.
Last Saturday, buyers bought just 100 units, or 20 per cent of the 491 flats on offer, at Nan Fung Development’s LP6 development at Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O, even after significant price cuts from the previous batch.




At the One East Coast project in Kowloon’s Yau Tong, just 43 of the 130 flats on offer were sold on Friday, the first new project put on sale after the policy speech.
Meanwhile, a 670 sq ft unit at Tierra Verde, on top of Tsing Yi subway station sold for HK$10.5 million, or HK$15,672 per sq ft – or around 12.5 per cent below market value.


Hong Kong businessman expected to take loss on Peak properties he bought for US$255m

Wang Fuk Court residents in resettlement limbo slam ‘unhelpful’ engagement officers

Hong Kong buyers snap up most of 360 flats at 2 projects as confidence returns

When homes are small and costly, dreams of having a family shrink

Hong Kong housing

Is Hong Kong’s property boom over? Homeowners and developers rush to cash in before further price falls

Just 100 of the 491 flats on offer were bought at Nan Fung’s “LP6” development on Saturday, even after significant price cuts. Photo: Reuters

A man walks in front of a view showing residential and commercial buildings in Hong Kong on September 27, 2018. - Two of Hong Kong's biggest banks raised their lending rates on September 27 for the first time in 12 years, ending an age of cheap cash that could hit the city's famously red-hot property market. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

21-year high – Hong Kong property sales expected to touch US$51 billion in first six months this year

Buyers queue up for a property launch in Hong Kong. Between 2,000 and 2,500 apartments are expected to be sold in June. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Exterior view of Henderson Land Development's Cetus, Square Mile, on 18 Ka Shin Street in Mong Kok. The project will be launched on June 16, 2018. 15JUN18 SCMP / Felix Wong

Beware the big impending Hong Kong property bust

People queue up to buy a property at the old airport site in Kai Tak. Photo: Edward Wong

Chinese money floods into Hong Kong property, as Beijing set to check taxpayers’ foreign financial accounts

Long queues at the sales office of Cheung Kong Property Holdings' Ocean Pride at Fortune Metropolis in Hung Hom this month. Photo: Nora Tam

This picture taken on May 25, 2017 shows a resident (C) walking across the road in the Wonderland Villas hilltop residential complex in the Kwai Fong district of Hong Kong. Red-whiskered bulbuls start chirping around 5:00 am at Wonderland Villas, a hilltop complex in leafy northern Hong Kong whose own history charts the city's political, economic and social fortunes. Prices at Wonderland have risen, waned and risen again, as Hong Kong property has swung through boom and bust to become one of the world's most expensive markets. / AFP PHOTO / Isaac LAWRENCE / TO GO WITH Hong Kong-China-Britain-lifestyle-property-construction-urban-planning, FEATURE by Elaine YU

View of Sun Hung Kai Properties's Park Yoho Genova in Kam Tin, Yuen Long. 14JUN17 SCMP / Edmond So

Divisions grow as analysts debate Hong Kong property outlook

A consortium of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese buyers paid a record HK$40.2 billion (US$5.15 billion) for The Center in early November: Photo: Nora Tam

Business

Property

Hong Kong & China

A tepid response to new releases over the past two weekends, have added further fuel to the argument that the city’s housing boom is slowing


A tepid response to new releases over the past two weekends, have added further fuel to the argument that Hong Kong’s housing boom is slowing.


Hong Kong property

Is Hong Kong’s property boom over? Homeowners and developers rush to cash in before further price falls

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A tepid response to new releases over the past two weekends, have added further fuel to the argument that the city’s housing boom is slowing

A tepid response to new releases over the past two weekends, have added further fuel to the argument that the city’s housing boom is slowing