Buyers shrug off Hong Kong rallies to snap up Aurora flats in Tsuen Wan, offered at 10 per cent discount to the neighbourhood

Billion Development & Project Management sold all 354 flats on offer at The Aurora in Tsuen Wan, for a total sales value of HK$2.83 billion

Prices start at HK$17,558 per square foot, or HK$3.81 million (US$485,720) for a 217-square foot (20 square metre) flat, almost 10 per cent cheaper than prevailing prices in the neighbourhood

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As many as 8,900 buyers registered for 354 apartments at The Aurora offered by Billion Development & Project Management in Tsuen Wan on August 17. Photo: David Wong

Published: 7:17pm, 17 Aug 2019Updated: 11:52pm, 17 Aug 2019

Homebuyers shrugged off a downpour and Hong Kong’s 11th week of street protests to snap up the flats offered at a discount by Billion Development & Project Management in Tsuen Wan.

Billion sold all 354 available units on offer at The Aurora for a total sales value of HK$2.83 billion, sales agents said.

Prices at The Aurora start at HK$3.81 million (US$485,720), or HK$17,558 per square foot, for a 217-square foot (20 square metre) flat, almost 10 per cent cheaper than prevailing prices at lived-in homes in the neighbourhood. By comparison, a 598 sq ft unit at the 12-year-old Vision City next to The Aurora recently sold for HK$9.9 million, or HK$19,488 per sq ft.

“The sale today was really good, considering the ongoing social instability,” said Louise Chan, vice-chairman of Asia-Pacific and chief executive of residential division at Centaline Property Agency. “The cheaper prices have successfully wooed buyers who are looking for homes for their own use.”

Hong Kong’s decade-long property bull run has stumbled since June, as the combination of the US-China trade war and the worst political crisis in decades affected the city’s investment appetite, driving property buyers to the sidelines.

The CCL home price index, reflecting the secondary market of lived-in homes, declined for the third week during the period that ended on August 11. Centaline expected that second-hand home prices can drop by as much as 10 per cent in the third quarter alone.