New | Hong Kong land prices set to rise further as developers rush to buy land

Hong Kong land prices will keep rising as developers rush to buy sites amid strong property sales and intense competition, industry experts say.

Against the backdrop of a market forecast that primary market transaction values will reach HK$200 billion this year, developers need to replenish their land banks if they want to maintain their market share and continue to capitalise on the strong buying sentiment.

"We have seen many sites which attracted more than 10 bidders in government tenders. Competition will certainly be heating up," said Thomas Lam, the head of valuation and consultancy at Knight Frank.

He noted that local construction firms were also joining the bidding.

"Land prices will see an upside trend as developers have no choice but to offer aggressive bids if they want to win the tender," Lam said.

Victor Lai Kin-fai, the chief executive of consultancy Centaline Professionals, said transactions in the primary residential market have been running high since the middle of last year. This could encourage developers to be more aggressive in land acquisition.

"Sitting on strong cash reserves, property firms have to speed up the pace of construction and step up efforts to market new projects in order to drive higher turnover," he said.