New World Development has achieved its sales target for the financial year to June in just four months, generating more than HK$10 billion despite a downturn in the property market. Chairman Henry Cheng Ka-shun said the company had no plans to raise the sales target although it met its goal earlier than expected. The developer, one of Hong Kong's largest, had earlier said it was aiming at about HK$10 billion in sales for the financial year. A company spokesman attributed the performance partly to the strong sales at The Austin in Tsim Sha Tsui, a joint-venture luxury residential development between New World and Wheelock Properties. The Austin project has brought in nearly HK$10 billion from the sale of 575 units since it was launched in the middle of October. The project sold a 3,306-square-foot unit with a 2,087 sqft terrace for HK$137.9 million, or HK$41,700 per square foot, the highest price in the development by unit area. To increase sales, buyers of The Austin are being offered a 2 per cent discount if they sign a deal by November 30, a 3 per cent discount for New World Club or Wheelock Club members and a subsidy of up to 8.5 per cent on stamp duties. Cheng said the developer was not offering "dumping prices" but would provide subsidies on stamp duty as an incentive to bolster interest. Speaking after the firm's annual general meeting, Cheng said he believed the government was unlikely to withdraw in the short term the curbs to cool the market. "It is not the right time to lift the restrictive measures, given that home prices have declined slightly. But the government also does not want to see a drastic downward adjustment of prices," he said. Shares of New World dropped 0.55 per cent to close at HK$10.82 yesterday.
