Hong Kong property developers, led by Sun Hung Kai, K Wah, rush 27,000 new homes to market as sales uptick stokes hopes

Developers will launch around 36 developments with 27,350 homes this year, according to the Post’s calculations

An increase in transactions and stabilising interest rates have developers expecting a return to normalcy after sales fell 41.3 per cent in 2022

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Potential buyers visited the sales office of Henderson Land-developed One Innovale at Mira Place in Tsim Sha Tsui on January 8, 2023. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 11:41am, 7 Feb 2023Updated: 2:21pm, 7 Feb 2023

Hong Kong’s major property developers are rushing to put more than 27,000 new homes on the market this year, seizing on an uptick in buying sentiment and transaction volume after the relaxation of anti-pandemic measures and the reopening of the border with mainland China.

At least 14 developers, including Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Henderson Land Development, New World Development, Sino Land and K Wah International, plan to launch some 36 developments with around 27,350 homes this year, according to the Post’s tracking of sales plans revealed in late January and early February.

The pressure of high interest rates on the property market will gradually diminish, said Victor Lui Ting, deputy managing director at SHKP, Hong Kong’s biggest developer by market value.

“In the past month, home prices in the local second-hand market have picked up, and the turnover of first-hand transactions is even more active than before,” he said, adding that home prices are expected to see a mild increase of 5 to 10 per cent this year.

Travelers from mainland China arrive in Hong Kong at the Lo Wu border crossing on February 6, 2023. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Six major lenders, including HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, Citibank and Standard Chartered, said on February 2 that they would keep their prime lending rates unchanged after Hong Kong’s monetary authority raised the city’s base rate by 25 basis points in lockstep with an increase by the US Federal Reserve.