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Hong Kong property
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Hong Kong developers set to delay launch of new flats as sector counts on easing of property cooling measures: agents

  • Developers may hold off on launching sales at new projects until the government eases decade-old curbs, which is now seen as highly likely
  • Buyers also taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of Hong Kong leader’s annual policy address on October 25, agents say

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Construction proceeds at a site in the Kai Tak area of Hong Kong on August 30, 2023. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Salina Li

Hong Kong property developers are expected to put their latest projects on hold as the property sector widely anticipates that long-standing cooling measures that add to the cost of buying a home will be eased soon, according to property agents.

“Some residential projects may stand by and launch as soon as the government eases the cooling measures,” said Sammy Po Siu-ming, CEO of Midland Realty’s residential division for Hong Kong and Macau.

Projects like KT Marina in Kai Tak, a new phase of Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Novo Land in Tuen Mun, and Yoho West in Tin Shui Wai are prime candidates for delays in launch plans, Po said.

The anticipation comes after the government gave its strongest hint yet that it could soon ease the cooling measures, with Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po saying on Wednesday that the conditions that prompted authorities to impose them more than a decade ago no longer prevailed.
The Novo Land development in Tuen Mun, built by Sun Hung Kai Properties, is one new project that could delay its sales launch, according to a property agency CEO. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
The Novo Land development in Tuen Mun, built by Sun Hung Kai Properties, is one new project that could delay its sales launch, according to a property agency CEO. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

“The market has been quiet recently, partly because buyers also remain on a wait-and-see attitude until the [government’s annual] policy address on October 25,” Po said, adding that transactions will continue to hover at a low level until then.

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