Sales of Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Grand Yoho development in Yuen Long – the first project to be launched this year – got off to a satisfactory start, selling more than a quarter of the units within two hours. Buyers snapped up 18, or 27 per cent, of the 66 units at the Grand Yoho phase two development in the first two hours after sales started on Thursday night, according to property agents. The sale kicked off at 7pm at the International Commerce Centre at Kowloon MTR Station. But Thomas Lam, senior director at Knight Frank, said the sales result was insufficient to serve as a benchmark for the market outlook as it involved such a small number of units. “The overall picture will become clearer after the Lunar New Year because of more new launches by then,” he said. About 4,800 new units in 11 projects have secured pre-sale consent to come on the market this year. SHKP said it has registered 1,019 potential homebuyers for the 66 flats at the Grand Yoho phase two development. In August last year, the launch of the phase one development drew 16,700 potential buyers, the third-highest number ever for a Hong Kong development. The developer last week unveiled the price list of the first batch of 166 units at Grand Yoho phase two, due to be completed as early as next month, at an average of HK$17,998 per square foot. After factoring in discounts of up to 19.5 per cent, SHKP said the average price will come down to HK$14,488 per square foot, a level close to units at Taikoo Shing, where the average is HK$15,114 per square foot. But the developer just released 66 flats for pre-sale on Thursday. Lam said homebuying sentiment may be affected by the upcoming Lunar New Year, which is traditionally the low season for the property market. Meanwhile, China Overseas Land & Investment has attracted more than 2,600 prospective buyers for the sale of its 188 units at One Kai Tak development, built on the site of the city’s former airport. The first 125 units of One Kai Tak Phase Two will be offered for between HK$17,414 and HK$26,013 per square foot. After taking into account a 14.5 per cent discount, the price will come down to HK$14,889 to HK$22,240 per square foot. The average discounted price is HK$17,500 per square foot, about 22 per cent above the previous launch price of HK$14,400 per square foot in August. On Tuesday, China Overseas Land released an additional 63 flats, raising the total number of units that will go on sale on Saturday to 188. Prices for the latest batch were HK$15,000 to HK$19,000 per square foot after discount, 1.3 per cent higher than the first batch, it said. The cheapest is a 563 sq ft unit that will cost HK$8.76 million after the discount.
