Bright spots lift gloom: home sales in Ho Man Tin and Hung Hom energise Kowloon’s primary residential sector
During a period of downward pressure, high-end apartments in developments such as Stars by the Harbour, Ultima and Homantin Hillside have proved popular with buyers
While Hong Kong’s property sector remains under downward pressure, there are bright spots lifting the gloom. Over the past 12 months, Ho Man Tin and Hung Hom have been the key drivers of Kowloon’s home sales in the primary market, with more than 600 apartments sold during the period, figures from the Land Registry show.
The largest contributor to central Kowloon’s home sales was the second phase of Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Ultima in Ho Man Tin, with at least 205 deals, including the sale of two duplexes in May. The average unit price for the units was about HK$28,500 per square foot, while the duplexes fetched about HK$41,200 per square foot.
Stars By The Harbour, located at 7 Hung Luen Road, Hung Hom, came in second with about 157 deals, out of a total of 321 units, at about HK$20,000 per square foot since August last year. William Kwok Tsz-wai, a director at Cheung Kong Real Estate, says another 15 units in Block 5 have been released for sale, of which prices have been marked up by 3 per cent.
Since it was launched in March this year, Wheelock Properties has sold at least 64 units at One Homantin at an average price of about HK$19,300 per square foot. Kerry Properties sold at least 50 units at Mantin Heights for about HK$19,600 per square foot since April, according to Land Registry records.
In recent weeks, Wing Tai Properties Development has ramped up efforts to market the Homantin Hillside development it co-developed with Nan Fung Development. The project was briefly on the market in November 2014, and so far about 103 units have been sold for about HK$22,736 per square foot on average.
The latest deal involved the sale of a high-floor, 1,243 sq ft furnished four-bedroom flat for about HK$34.7 million, or about HK$27,934 per square foot.