CK Asset’s bet on home demand pays off as Hong Kong buyers shrug aside US law to snap up Tseung Kwan O’s costliest launch
- CK Asset sold 456 of the 462 flats available in the first batch of its Sea To Sky residential complex in Lohas park as of 10pm
- As many as 28 people submitted bids for every available unit, attracted by discounts and easier payment schemes
Hong Kong’s homebuyers snapped up the most expensive residential property project that launched in the Tseung Kwan O district on Saturday, persuaded by discounts and flexible payment terms to ignore the risks of a recession and escalating US-China tensions.
Sea To Sky, a new project by CK Asset Holdings Limited at Lohas Park, sold 456 of the first 462 flats offered for sale at 10pm, with 28 people submitting bids for every available unit, according to sales agents. The average price of the project, scheduled for delivery to buyers in February 2022, is HK$15,823 (US$2,042) per square foot after a 10-per cent discount for the first 285 flats in the lot.
Sea to Sky’s discounts at launch are “reasonable”, underscoring the developer’s strategy of “offering prices close to or lower than the market price to attract buyers in the first batch, to be followed by raised prices for the second and third batches,” said Sammy Po, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential division.
As many as 12,896 buyers registered with financial deposits to vie for discounts allocated for the first 285 of the 462 offered for sale. In all, the project comprises 1,422 flats.
Hong Kong’s residential property market is struggling to find its footing, after a decade-long bull run was stopped in its tracks by more than a year of anti-government protests, an unceasing US-China trade war and the city’s worst recession on record brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Political events such as US sanctions have a minor impact on the housing market based on previous experience,” Po said.
To drum up interest, CK Asset offer potential buyer flexible payment terms, requiring them to deposit a sum equivalent to 5 per cent of the discounted price to secure a property, cheaper than the usual 10 per cent. Buyers who opt for this cheap down payment scheme are eligible for a smaller discount of 3 percentage points compared with others, agents said.
“Sales will pick up in the second half to around 11,000 units, up from 7,000-8,000 units in the first six months,” Po said, estimating that prices for the city will rise 5 per cent this year. “The first half was affected by the pandemic as few new projects were available for several months [during the peak of the pandemic].”