First 300 flats on the market in Hong Kong this year sell out in 7 hours

The first batch of 300 flats in Sun Hung Kai Properties' Century Link development in Tung Chung - the first project to go on the market this year - sold out in less than seven hours yesterday.

The flats went on sale at 10am and were sold out well before close of business at 6pm, according to two property agents who declined to be named.

It was the developer's first sale since Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong was found guilty of bribery and resigned as the company's co-chairman last month.

He was jailed for five years for illegally paying former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan HK$8.5 million. He is appealing against the conviction.

Properties on sale included flats with one or two bedrooms and net floor areas ranging from 408 to 645 sq ft, priced at HK$4 million to HK$6 million.

Many buyers had their eyes on the smaller one-bedroom flats, which had sold out by early afternoon, according to the property agents.

The cheapest flat was a 412 sq ft unit on the first floor priced at HK$4.09 million before the discount - or HK$9,948 per square foot in terms of saleable area. After the discount of up to 10.5 per cent, the price would be HK$3.66 million, or HK$8,904 per square foot.

"This is a good price and a rare chance for first-time buyers like us to get our own home. You'd pay this much for a second-hand flat in Tung Chung. We feel so lucky," said one man who bought a two-bedroom flat for his family.

Some 13,800 homebuyers had signed up for the first batch of Century Link flats, making it the most popular residential project since a law to regulate the sale of new flats took effect in April 2013.

Flats sold yesterday include units at Towers 3A and 3B, and Towers 5A and 5B, which are expected to be completed by March 31 next year.

The project will eventually provide 1,407 units - 70 per cent of which measure under 500 sq ft.

One property agent said the results showed there was strong demand for new flats when the price was right.

"Buyers were drawn in by the relatively low price tags - especially first-time buyers. The location is also very appealing - it's close to the airport and the bridge that's being built [linking] Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai," said Louis Chan Wing-kit, managing director for residential sales at Centaline Property Agency.

Victor Lui Ting, Sun Hung Kai Properties deputy managing director, said earlier that the company would net HK$1.7 billion if all 300 flats were sold.

Midland Realty expected average home prices in the New Territories to go up by 10 per cent over the next year, passing the HK$10,000 per square foot mark.

Shares in SHKP closed at HK$118.50 on Friday, up 0.17 per cent.