Price cuts spur 15 per cent rise in Hong Kong secondary market home sales

Steeper discounts and the release of pent-up demand boosted Hong Kong home sales in the secondary market last week, with transactions mainly focused in the New Territories, where there have been sharper price falls, according to agents.

“Last week was the best performance in the past seven months because of the release of pent-up demand,” said David Chan, a director at property agent Ricacorp Properties.

He said home seekers, lured by lower selling prices, had returned to the market to pick up bargains.

In Hong Kong’s secondary market during the week of February 29 to March 6 a total of 105 flats were sold at 50 housing estates monitored by Ricacorp, 15 per cent more than the previous week.

Ricacorp said there were 51 deals done in the New Territories, 45 in Kowloon and nine on Hong Kong Island.

In Tsuen Wan, the number of transactions at Tsuen Wan Centre, where home prices recorded a week-on-week 4.6 per cent fall, jumped to four last week, from one a week earlier.

Prices at Shatin City One, Sha Tin, saw a 7.8 per cent week-on-week decline, boosting the number of transactions to four last week, from one a week earlier.

“But sales in the secondary market have not fully recovered and still take time to observe,” Chan said

Developers are speeding up the marketing of new projects after seeing more home seekers back in the market.

Three developers will release a total of nearly 100 units for sale in three different projects on Friday.

Sun Hung Kai Properties will offer 10 units at Twin Regency in Yuen Long, Sino Land will release 30 units at The Mediterranean in Sai Kung, and Cheung Kong Property will put 58 units up for sale at The Stars By The Harbour in Hung Hom.