Henderson Land’s prices for The Henley property project make it the most expensive in Kai Tak

Henderson Land prices the first batch of 96 flats at The Henley at an average of HK$26,448 per sq ft (US$3,407), 11 per cent higher than those set by Wheelock Properties for the Grand Monaco in February
Some 500 new homes go on sale across Hong Kong on Saturday, the most since September

Hong Kong property

Lam Ka-sing

Published: 7:51pm, 29 Apr 2021

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Developers are taking advantage of a revival in homebuying sentiment in Hong Kong, pricing new projects higher compared to recent launches.

Henderson Land Development revealed the prices of The Henley, its first project in Kai Tak on Thursday, pricing it 11 per cent higher than another project on the site of the city’s former airport in February.

Prices of four new projects have been announced in the last six days, with some 500 flats going on sale on Saturday, the most since September 2020.

“As there are signs of Covid-19 cases tapering off amidst the massive roll-out of the vaccination programme, we expect market sentiment to remain upbeat,” said Martin Wong, head of research and consultancy in Greater China at Knight Frank. “Developers are well prepared to launch new luxury developments to tap demand.”

Henderson, Hong Kong’s third largest developer by market value, priced the first batch of 96 flats at The Henley at an average of HK$26,448 per sq ft (US$3,407). They range from 274 sq ft to 889 sq ft, with the cheapest one-bedroom flat priced at HK$7.49 million.

The project is coming up on a site acquired from the financially troubled HNA Group. Henderson bought the land along with a neighbouring parcel for a combined HK$16 billion in February 2018.

While Henderson said it had been prudent in setting the price, the average price was 11 per cent higher than the HK$23,795 per sq ft set by Wheelock Properties for the Grand Monaco in February, making it the most expensive new project in Kai Tak.

It is also 26.2 per cent higher than the prevailing market price in Kai Tak at HK$20,959 per sq ft, according to data from Centaline Property Agency.

It is likely Henderson will sell the first batch in one go, said Louis Chan, Asia-Pacific vice-chairman and chief executive of the residential division at Centaline.

Mainland buyers or “new Hongkongers” accounted for about 30 per cent of new flat sales in Kai Tak in the first quarter, according to Midland Realty. Midland expects May to be the best month for new home sales this year, with sales of around 2,000 to 2,500 units.

“The one-bedroom flats are all sold out in Kai Tak as they are highly sought after. This project offers a new supply of one-bedroom flats in the district,” Chan said. “In addition, the project provides mortgages with high loan-to-value ratio.”

Developers are expected to release 500 new homes in three new projects this weekend, coinciding with the Labour Day holiday, the largest weekend sale since September, when more than 730 units were put on sale.

Road King Infrastructure and Ping An Insurance will launch South Land, their joint project with MTR Corporation, atop Wong Chuk Hang MTR station. Sino Land will debut its joint venture One Soho development in Mong Kok by putting the first 168 units on the market, while Sun Hung Kai Properties will release 82 units in the second batch of sales at its Regency Bay Phase Two development in Tuen Mun.

South Land has priced the first batch of 160 flats at HK$29,689 per sq ft after discounts, 4 per cent higher than the average price of HK$28,534 per sq ft at the Residence Bel-Air luxury project, also in the Southern district, according to Centaline data.

The project has attracted over 5,500 registrations of intent for the upcoming sale on Saturday, the highest so far this year.