Homebuyers snub China Evergrande’s Emerald Bay project again as rivals outperform in Hong Kong sales
- China Evergrande sold 30 of 253 units in the second phase of its Emerald Bay project in Tuen Mun
- Mainland’s biggest developer by sales fails to capture better sentiment seen elsewhere in Hong Kong during a spate of property offerings at the weekend
The developer sold 30 of the 253 units on offer in the Tuen Mun project in the New Territories, according to property agencies.
Oversupply in the district and general caution amid the worsening Covid-19 pandemic may have affected the take-up rate, some agencies said.
Since the second phase of the Emerald Bay was launched last year, the Guangdong-based developer sold only one-third of the units at the first round in March, and another 18 in the second round a month later, based on previous reports.
“This is an old project that was put onto the market a while ago, so there’s not much fresh interest in it,” said Sammy Po Siu-ming, chief executive of the residential division at Midland Realty. “A new project nearby will be launched soon, so that is also keeping some buyers away.”
There may be bigger reasons at play too. Investors may be concerned about the financial health of China Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer and once a standard bearer of China’s private companies that were seen as too big to fail.
It also underscores selective investment in the world’s most expensive real-estate market as Hongkongers are presented with many choices in recent months as home prices slipped amid an economic slump.
Hong Kong’s home prices were little changed last year, narrowly avoiding the first annual drop in 12 years despite the city clocking its worst recession on record when the economy shrank 6.1 per cent. Still, price of lived-in homes slid 0.4 per cent in December, bringing the decline to 1 per cent last quarter.
Property agencies are split about the outlook for 2021. Ricacorp Properties expects price to rise in January and February because of a seasonal boom, while others see a drag from the grim employment situation as the city’s jobless rate rose to a 16-year high.
