Kingswood tops Hong Kong’s most actively traded address list of 2019 as owners cut prices ahead of biggest home sales in 10 years

Kingswood Villas in Tin Shui Wai, one of the largest housing communities in Hong Kong, was the most actively traded address in 2019 for the second consecutive year, with two flats sold every weekday

Prices have dropped below US$1,284 per square foot to a 10-month low, as owners cut prices before the imminent sale of Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Wetland Seasons Park, the largest property launch in the area in 10 years

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General shots of Kingswood Villas in Tin Shui Wai developed by Cheung Kong between 1991 and 1999, home to nearly 40,000 residents according to Hong Kong’s 2016 census. Photo: SCMP

Published: 1:55pm, 27 Dec 2019Updated: 11:07pm, 27 Dec 2019

Kingswood Villas, one of Hong Kong’s largest housing communities, was the city’s most actively traded address for the second consecutive year, as owners slashed prices ahead of a 2020 launch of the first major property project to come to market in the area in the past decade.

As many as 531 homes changed hands at Kingswood Villas as of December 23, about 3.3 per cent of the 15,920 units in the 58 residential blocks there, according to data by Midland Realty. Prices have dropped to a 10-month low of below HK$10,000 (US$1,284) per square foot in some units, where a 550-sq ft flat at the Kenswood Court building sold for HK$5 million on December 20, while a 548-sq ft unit at Locwood Court changed hands at HK$5.5 million, according to Centaline’s sales data.

“Prices are considered [to be] the lowest among major housing estates in Hong Kong,” said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties.

The activity at Kingswood Villas, home to almost 40,000 residents according to Hong Kong’s 2016 census, shows how the residential property market is trying to find its footing after the city’s seven-month long political crisis sapped appetite for long-term investments.

Property owners at the community, developed by Cheung Kong Holdings from 1991 to 1999, are also trying to get ahead of the imminent launch of Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Wetland Seasons Park project, which will add 710 apartments to the housing supply in Tin Shui Wai.

Wetland Seasons Park, due for completion in March 2021, is priced at HK$11,388 per sq ft after an 18 per cent discount, Sun Hung Kai (SHKP) said this week in announcing the catalogue price for the first batch of 142 units. That prices the new project at a 9 per cent premium to the average transaction price of the 27-year-old Kingswood Villas.