Wheelock sells 110 flats at Koko Rosso in Hong Kong’s first major property sale after stamp duty cut
- About 6,600 potential buyers – or 44 home seekers for every flat – registered for the units on sale
- Though relaxation of the stamp duty has strengthened buyers’ confidence, it will not create a lot of new demand, Midland Realty executive says
“We are pretty confident that all units will be snapped because most of the units on offer today are small units and are not very expensive,” said Sammy Po Siu-ming, CEO of Midland Realty’s residential division for Hong Kong and Macau. “Sentiment has recovered.”
Koko Rosso is the third phase of Wheelock’s project in Lam Tin in Eastern Kowloon after Koko Hills and Koko Reserve.
About 6,600 potential buyers – or 44 home seekers for every flat – registered for the units on sale on Friday.
These flats are priced at HK$18,347 (US$2,338) per square foot on average after discounts. They are one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, with the cheapest priced at HK$5.5 million, according to the developer. The 148 flats are worth HK$1.27 billion in total.
The average price at Koko Rosso is 2 per cent higher than the HK$17,938 per square foot at Chill Residence, the last project to be launched in the district, in November 2022, according to Centaline Property Agency data.
“The relaxation in the stamp duty mainly strengthened buyers’ confidence and prompted them to speed up their entry into the market, as their home-buying burden is reduced,” Po said.
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“However it would not be able to create a lot of new demand, as down payments and repayment ability are key when buying homes. The stamp duty will be a very minor factor – the stamp duty cut mainly reflects the government’s support for the housing market.”
As all the units at Koko Rosso are priced less than HK$9 million each, the development can immediately benefit from the government’s new policy, Wheelock said.
The stamp duty adjustment comes after Hong Kong’s home prices fell 15.6 per cent in 2022, their biggest drop in 24 years. Residential property transactions plunged by almost 40 per cent to a low of about 45,000 deals.
The city’s slumping housing market, however, might have found some respite last month – an index of second-hand homes rose 2 points, or by 0.6 per cent, to 336.1 in January, according to data provided by the Rating and Valuation Department. It was the index’s biggest monthly increase since April 2022.
A number of transactions have taken place since the announcement, particularly in the second-hand market, property agents said. Sha Tin Plaza in Sha Tin-Tai Wai district recorded its first home sale this month, with a three-bedroom flat selling for HK$10.38 million on Wednesday, according to Centaline.
Property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield has updated its forecast for Hong Kong’s residential property market, estimating an increase in home prices by 5 to 10 per cent from the previous 3 to 5 per cent.
Despite the recent recovery in sentiment, Hong Kong developers are under pressure to sell their inventory and new projects as soon as possible to collect cash or to get new loans from lenders.
Although most of their gearings are at safe levels, they are struggling because of the increase in interest rates.
Henderson Land Development on Friday signed a partnership with China’s Industrial Bank for credit support of up to 30 billion yuan (US$4.35 billion).
Additional reporting by Lam Ka-sing
