Source:
https://scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2000142/strong-ori-response-fuels-hong-kong-home-recovery-hopes
Property/ Hong Kong & China

Strong Ori response fuels Hong Kong home recovery hopes

Hopeful buyers line up at the Ori sales office in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Edward Wong

Developer Nan Fung’s Ori in Tuen Mun drew a strong response from homebuyers on the first day of sales on Saturday, a sign of recovering sentiment in the local ­property market.

The company said 280 of Ori’s 370 units in total were snapped up in the 51/ 2 hours ended at 6.30pm.

Nan Fung sales manager Chung Chi-lam said more than 75 per cent of units had been sold, ­reflecting the popularity of the new development.

Well over 3,600 prospective buyers signed up to reserve an Ori purchase, according to the company, and many were said to be first-time homebuyers.

The average price for the first batch of 138 units was HK$8,826 per sq ft after discounts of up to 20 per cent.

Around 54 per cent were priced at less than HK$3 million. The cheapest flats – HK$1.97 million for 253 sq ft – were snapped up by 4pm.

“It is the first project launched for sale at prices below HK$2 million since 2014,” Sammy Po, chief executive at Midland Realty’s residential department said. Two years ago, Cheung Kong set the ball rolling with a HK$1.55 million price tag on its 177 sq ft studio flats at Mont Vert in Tai Po.

“Most of the flats in Ori are priced between HK$2 million and HK$4 million, which highly satisfies the rigid demand from local buyers seeking homes,” Po said.

“And the average price is acceptable to buyers because it is even cheaper than secondary residential prices in the area.”

Po said the attendance rate of prospective buyers through his agency reached 90 per cent, compared to the normal rate of 70-80 per cent. That was an indication of the popularity of Ori.

“Hong Kong’s property market will see continuous recovery in the third quarter,” Po said.

“A stable market performance should also be seen in the past three months if the economy was not worse than expected.’

Louis Chan Wing-kit, residential chief of Centaline Property, said the first-hand residential market had experienced a recovery after Brexit.

He expects the number of first-hand residential transactions to reach 2,000 this month, the highest monthly record since April 2015.

However, overall property sales in Hong Kong fell 11.3 per cent last month from June, but it was expected that buyer interest would improve, driven by positive sentiment encouraging more developers to speed up sales of new projects.

It is estimated that another six to seven new projects will be released in the city this month.