Sentiment in Hong Kong’s property sector hit across the board as there’s no respite from coronvirus outbreak
- Only 594 new homes were sold in March, the least since December 2018 while overall transaction in the first quarter fell to a four-year low at HK$100.09 billion
- Hong Kong government’s land parcel in Mong Kok fetches 20 per cent less than the lower end of market expectation
Hong Kong’s property market continues to be battered from all sides as the worsening coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on sales, prices, rents and even government land sales.
New home sales in March sank 40.4 per cent month on month to 594 units, the lowest since December 2018 while overall transaction volume in the first quarter fell to a four-year low at HK$100.09 billion, according to data from Centaline Property Agency. This comes a day after secondary home prices in the city recorded their steepest drop in 15 months in February.
“The downward adjustment in home price is not done yet,” said Wong Leung-sing, associate director of research at Centaline, adding that the Covid-19 outbreak has dampened market sentiment and forced developers to defer project launches.
On Wednesday, the Hong Kong government sold a residential plot far below market estimates.
The parcel, about half the size of a basketball court in protest-hit Mong Kok, fetched 20 per cent less than the lower end of market expectation. The per-square-foot price of HK$3,512 is the cheapest since June 2004. Hong Kong-listed Eagle Legend Asia paid HK$85.9 million, which is less than a 1,443 sq ft flat at The Cullinan at Kowloon Station that sold for HK$90 million in November 2019.