Hong Kong’s property bull run takes a surprise break as Sun Hung Kai’s Park Yoho Napoli flats in Yuen Long fail to sell out
- Sun Hung Kai Properties sold 20 of the 144 flats at the Park Yoho Napoli project on Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long as of 3:30pm, agents said
- Napoli’s flop was a stark contrast to the frenzy two weekends ago when Hong Kong’s biggest Saturday launch in six years almost sold out
The bull run in Hong Kong’s residential property market took an unexpected break on Saturday when a weekend launch by the city’s biggest developer failed to sell out.
Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) sold 20 of the 144 flats at the Park Yoho Napoli project on Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long, according to sales agents, adding that very few more are likely to find buyers. Prices started from HK$17,307 per square foot before discounts of up to 21 per cent.
In its rush to get Napoli – the apartment sizes range from 251 sq ft to 826 sq ft (77 square metres) – on the market to avoid a vacancy tax working its way through Hong Kong’s legislature, SHKP added to the supply that was flooding the market, giving buyers more reason to wait for better options, agents said.
Developers have sped up the sale partly driven by the vacancy tax. Most of the units sold on Saturday were one-bedroom flats that cost less than HK$6 million (US$764,000) each, said Sammy Po, chief executive at Midland Realty’s residential department, which qualify them for up to 90 per cent loan financing, and are thus more affordable to first-time buyers.