Hong Kong’s home sales fizzle for a second weekend ahead of key policy address expected to boost supply of affordable homes

CK Asset and Sun Hung Kai Properties sold 65 of the 303 units on offer in two projects as of 9pm, an agent said

The lacklustre result comes as Chief Executive Carrier Lam is due to deliver her annual policy address on Wednesday and the index of second-hand homes tumbled in August

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Potential buyers of CK Asset's SeaTo Sky project at Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O, photographed at the project’s sales office in Hung Hom on 10 October 2020. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 4:07pm, 10 Oct 2020Updated: 5:59pm, 3 Nov 2020

Hong Kong’s weekend home sales sputtered as buyers remained cautious ahead of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s annual policy address next week, expected to increase land supply for affordable housing to rein in one of the world’s most expensive property markets.

In the two projects that were on offer on Saturday, CK Asset Holdings sold 59 out of the 285 units at the Sea To Sky project at Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O, while Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) sold six out of the 18 flats at Mount Regency in Tuen Mun as of 9pm, according to Sammy Po, chief executive of the residential division of Midland Realty.

There are signs that property buyers “are more and more reluctant to negotiate” or settle for more over catalogue prices, which compels developers to cut prices if they want to find willing buyers, Po said.

The slump extends the disappointment of the September 26 weekend, when investors turned their backs on the biggest combined launch of 726 flats by six developers. CK Asset, SHKP, Henderson Land Developments and others managed to sell only 40 per cent of the flats on offer. At the Sea to Sky, only 68 of 285 apartments on offer found buyers.

Two continuous weekends of lacklustre sales underscores the challenges faced by Hong Kong’s real estate market, as the city’s worst recession on record gave buyers cause for pause, while an oversupply of flats released before the coronavirus pandemic earlier in the year remains mostly unsold. Hong Kong’s index of second-hand houses fell 1.1 per cent in August, its biggest drop in six months, extending the declines to 4.1 per cent from the May 2019 record.

“Prices may stabilise in the short term, despite the decline in the housing price index,” Po said.

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