Below-market prices at Trinity Towers attract buyers

Trinity Towers, a residential project in Sham Shui Po jointly developed by Cheung Kong and the Urban Renewal Authority, has attracted homebuyers and because of the small lump-sum payment involved.

The developers have registered more than 3,000 potential buyers since they offered the first 108 flats for sale on Thursday. The project, comprising 402 flats in three blocks and scheduled to be completed in July next year, may be launched for sale this week. After discounts, the average price of units at Trinity Towers is HK$10,400 per square foot, 13 per cent lower than prices at nearby housing estates.

"Investors are betting on upside potential after seeing the lower-than-expected launch price. We have seen interested buyers from the western Mid-Levels," said James Au Yeung, an assistant sales director at Centaline Property Agency in West Kowloon.

Home prices in the area would benefit from a change in the district in coming years, Au Yeung said.

Sun Hung Kai Properties won the development rights for a residential and commercial site above Nam Cheong MTR station, within walking distance of Trinity Towers, for HK$11.8 billion in October 2011.

"It will spice up the commercial value in an old district like Sham Shui Po, jammed with ageing buildings," he said.

The URA said last month it would spend HK$1.8 billion to redevelop a group of 60-year-old buildings between Castle Peak Road and Un Chau Street. The proposed project, comprising 230 flats plus 2,400 square metres of commercial space, is slated for completion in 2020. Existing owners were reportedly seeking more than HK$10,000 per sq ft in compensation from the URA.

If such acquisition prices materialised, Au Yueng said, the flats to be developed on the site would be more expensive than those of Trinity Towers.

The first batch of flats at Trinity Towers have been priced in a range from HK$3.7 million to HK$9.87 million, or HK$9,552 to HK$14,146 per square foot.

Buyers can get a 5 per cent discount if they pay cash and an extra 3 per cent discount if the transaction is done by April 30. There is a 3.75 per cent subsidy for stamp duties.

After the discounts, the minimum price for a 362 sq ft one-bedroom flat is about HK$3.26 million, or HK$9,010 per square foot. A three-bedroom flat costs at least HK$6.1 million, or HK$8,430 per square foot.

Patrick Wong, director of property research at BNP Paribas Securities (Asia), said the response to Trinity Towers showed demand remained strong when pricing was attractive.