Flat sales down because of holiday
Secondary-market sales on big estates down 19pc; sales of new homes drop 40pc
Secondary-market home sales dropped to a near-13-month low last week as buyers put plans on hold to enjoy their Lunar New Year holiday break.
Just 88 flats were sold from February 11 to 17 on the 50 major housing estates in Hong Kong monitored by agency Ricacorp Properties, down 19 per cent from 108 the previous week.
"End-users put their buying plans on hold during the new year holiday and investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards buying property as they are worried the government may release new cooling measures," David Chan, a Ricacorp Properties director, said.
Just 17 flats were sold during the week in the nine estates on Hong Kong Island, down from 29 in the previous week.
Only 28 flats were sold in the major housing estates in Kowloon, down from 42 in the previous week.
But with the holiday now over, Chan said he expected sales to pick up again.
"Some end-users may be planning to buy flats before the government releases the new budget on February 27. I estimate the weekly sales of the major 50 housing estates will rebound to more than 150," he said.
Data from BNP Paribas Securities shows 93 new homes were sold last weekend, a drop of nearly 40 per cent on the 151 flats sold the previous weekend.
Sales of flats in Sun Hung Kai Properties' Residence 88 in Yuen Long accounted for almost 60 per cent of the total.
Sino Land has released the first price list for 30 flats in its project The Avery in Kowloon City.
The average price of the flats on offer is HK$18,266 per square foot of saleable area.
