Sales plunge 20pc in Tai Po, but homeowners in no rush to sell

Sales in the secondary residential market in Tai Po plunged 20 per cent last week after Sino Land announced lower-than-expected prices for a project and a plot of land fetched much less at auction than similar sites in the past.

As developers lured buyers with discounts and stamp duty subsidies, most homeowners now prefer to hold their flats for lease, property agents said.

"Given most owners have the strong financial ability to hold their flats for the long term, we have not seen panic selling," said Sam Yau Chuen-leung, senior sales manager at Centaline Property Agency's Tai Po branch.

Since the government's curbs have eliminated speculators, Yau said, owners would be unlikely to sell at a big discount in response to negative news. He expects the secondary market to remain quiet owing to abundant supply.

Last week, Sino Land released the price list for 110 units at Mayfair By The Sea in Tai Po with discounts of up to 19.25 per cent. After all discounts, the average price is about HK$11,540 per square foot. Agents said the latest prices were about 20 per cent below the selling price of Sino Land's nearby project, Graces.

Two weeks earlier, Great Eagle won a site in Pak Shek Kok for HK$2.412 billion, or HK$3,300 per square foot - 46 per cent lower than nearby waterfront sites sold for six years ago.