Hong Kong’s new private flat transactions in July see steep fall amid lack of large scale projects

Transaction numbers for new private flatsin Hong Kong fell almost 60 per cent month on month in July, according to figures from the Land Registry.

Hong Kong Property chief executive Lee Chi-shing said the lack of new large-scale property projects in June was the reason behind the lower number and volume of transactions in July.

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Land Registry data showed the number of new private flat transactions plummeted 58.9 per cent from 2,308 in June to 948 in July.

Transaction value fell from HK$27.22 billion in June to HK$12.03 billion in July, representing a 55.8 per cent decline.

The biggest decline in July came from transactions of new flats priced between HK$10 million and HK$20 million, with only 205 transactions in the month, down 69.8 per cent from 678 in June.

Transaction value for this price range was just HK$2.78 billion in July, down 68.5 per cent from HK$8.84 billion in June.

As a result of the declines, the share of new private flat sales to total flat transactions in July declined from 36.6 per cent in June to 26 per cent in July, excluding transactions for new public estate flats.

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Separately, the Edition 178 development in Kwai Chung released the price list for its first batch of 55 flats on Wednesday, continuing the recent trend of nano flat launches in Hong Kong.

The developer said flats measuring 222 sq ft were priced at about HK$3.1 million when taking into account an 11.65 per cent discount, or HK$13,996 per sq ft.

The relatively low prices of Edition 178 should attract buyers, said Sammy Po, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential department.