Hongkongers snap up cheaper new homes in weekend home sale bonanza that saw 223 flats on offer
- Most of the new units on Saturday came from Villa Garda III in Tseung Kwan O, which sold 73 of the 138 put up for sale
- Developers have been cutting prices and offering steep discounts to try to drive sales amid elevated interest rates
Hong Kong on Saturday saw 223 new residential units across five projects made available to homebuyers, with the new major launch of 138 flats at a project in Tseung Kwan O offering discounts as high as 15 per cent.
As of 4.30pm, Villa Garda III sold 73 out of 138 units, according to property agents. The units comprise 17 one-bedroom, 113 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom flats, with areas ranging from 340 sq ft to 719 sq ft.
Under its so-called 200-day talent payment plan, with a maximum discount of 14 per cent and a 4.5 per cent cash rebate on the remaining plan, units were priced at an average of HK$16,308 (US$2,243) per square foot. With the deductions, the flats were priced from HK$5.77 million to HK$12.28 million or HK$15,168 per square foot to HK$17,653 per square foot.
In comparison, a lived-in 343 sq ft unit at the five-year-old Wings at Sea II, also in Lohas Park, was listed for HK$6.4 million or HK$18,659 per square foot, according to Midland Realty’s website on Saturday. The average price in the estate was HK$15,840 per square foot.
“The project is welcomed by buyers. It has good public transport and a shopping mall, allowing people to enjoy a good living environment,” said Sammy Po Siu-ming, CEO of Midland Realty’s residential division for Hong Kong and Macau. “Also, its price has a large discount compared with one year ago.”
Given its proximity to the Lohas Park MTR station, about 20 per cent of the potential buyers of the property were “long-term investors”, said Louis Chan Wing-kit, CEO of the residential division at Centaline Property Agency.
Hong Kong home builders hasten sales launches as pipeline builds
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has been keeping in step with the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening stance to maintain the local currency’s peg to the US dollar. Commercial banks in the city have raised their prime rate five times since September, by a total of 0.875 percentage points, bringing it to a level last seen in February 2008.
“Based on the current market situation, developers would cut prices by 5 per cent to 10 per cent to drive sales,” said Martin Wong, Knight Frank’s Greater China head of research and consultancy. “With a large amount of unsold units and developers wishing to clear inventory, the price war may intensify in the coming months.”
Earlier this month, CK Asset Holding, the property developer owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing, effectively triggered a price war in the housing market when it offered 626 units of the Coast Line II at an average price of HK$14,686 per square foot, about 16 per cent cheaper than the most recent launch in January of Wheelock Properties’ Koko Rosso project in the same neighbourhood. All flats in the batch were sold on August 12.
Another 219 units in Coast Line I were priced at HK$15,939 per square foot, slightly higher than the previous phase. Buyers, however, still turned up in droves and snapped up almost all the units on the first day of its launch on August 20.
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On Saturday, 32 units of Coast Line II were also put on offer with prices ranging from HK$5.53 million to HK$10.95 million. Another three units, from a previous batch where potential homebuyers forfeited their deposits, were also made available to the market. As of 4.30pm, 32 of the 35 units had been sold, agents said.
Flats from two projects by Henderson Land were also released to the market. The Holborn in Quarry Bay with 20 units comprising one- and two-bedroom apartments were priced from HK$5.77 million to HK$11.85 million, a 20 per cent discount from the prices of the first batch released in 2021, according to Po of Midland Realty.
Meanwhile, 18 units at Henley Park in Kowloon were also priced between HK$7.93 million and HK$18.4 million, or HK$20,397 to HK$30,456 per square foot.
Finally, Kowloon Development put on offer 12 units of two-bedroom flats at the Manor Hill in Lohas Park. Units are priced from HK$6.91 million to HK$7.32 million after discounts.
