Hong Kong housing market fails to pick up in Year of the Pig, as low prices fail to woo buyers
- Sino Land sells only four out of an available 129 units at its Mayfair by the Sea 8 project on Friday
- 46 out of 82 micro apartments sold at Magic Sight Holdings’ AVA 228 development
The Hong Kong housing market has made a slow start to the Year of the Pig. On Friday, Hong Kong developer Sino Land sold only four out of an available 129 units at its Mayfair by the Sea 8 project in the New Territories.
While three apartments were sold through tender, only one 685 sq ft unit was sold for HK$9.99 million (US$1.27 million), or HK$14,588 per square foot. The price, on a per square foot basis, was 22 per cent below the price for Sun Hung Kai Properties’ The St Martin development – about a 10-minute walk away – which sold in July last year.
“It is really bad,” said Alvin Cheung Chi-wai, associate director at Prudential Brokerage. “Now cheaper prices are not enough. You have to be much cheaper to match public expectations.”
Local developer Magic Sight Holdings’ AVA 228, a micro apartments project in Sham Shui Po, had sold 46 units out of a total of 82 apartments by 9pm.
The developer, a privately held firm owned by property investor Lo Wah, has priced the smallest of an initial batch of units, measuring 151 square feet, at HK$2.8 million, or at HK$18,563 per square foot, according to a price list released by the company on Thursday.
You have to be much cheaper to match public expectations
The apartments were the most affordable available in the market since February 2016, when a 299 sq ft flat at Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Twin Regency in Yuen Long was offered for HK$2.8 million.