CK Asset’s bet on home demand pays off as Hong Kong buyers
shrug aside US law to snap up Tseung Kwan O’s costliest launch
Hong Kong’s homebuyers snapped up
the most expensive residential property project that launched in the Tseung
Kwan O district on Saturday, persuaded by discounts and flexible payment terms
to ignore the risks of a recession and escalating US-China tensions.
Sea To Sky, a new project by CK Asset Holdings
Limited at Lohas Park, sold 456 of the first 462 flats offered for sale at
10pm, with 28 people submitting bids for every available unit, according to
sales agents. The average price of the project, scheduled for delivery to
buyers in February 2022, is HK$15,823 (US$2,042) per square foot after a 10-per
cent discount for the first 285 flats in the lot.
Prices start at HK$6.4 million for a
two-bedroom flat measuring 471 sq ft, going up to HK$17.7 million for a
four-bedroom unit of 1,077 sq ft. That sets the average price of the largest
development in Lohas Park about 21 per cent over the prevailing price of
lived-in homes in the neighbourhood, according to property agency’s data.
Sea To Sky’s discounts at launch are
“reasonable”, underscoring the developer’s strategy of “offering prices close
to or lower than the market price to attract buyers in the first batch, to be
followed by raised prices for the second and third batches,” agent said.
As many as 12,896 buyers registered
with financial deposits to vie for discounts allocated for the first 285 of the
462 offered for sale. In all, the project comprises 1,422 flats.
The strong showing by CK Assets, one
of Hong Kong’s bellwether property developers, draws a stark contrast to failed
attempts as recently as three weeks ago when China Evergrande failed on its
fourth attempt to attract buyers to its Emerald Bay
project in Tuen Mun.
Hong Kong’s residential property
market is struggling to find its footing, after a decade-long bull run was
stopped in its tracks by more than a year of anti-government protests, an
unceasing US-China trade war and the city’s worst recession on record brought
by the coronavirus pandemic.
The city’s average residential
property price has fallen by 5.4 per cent from its May 2019 peak, and analysts
are forecasting declines of between 10 per cent to 20 per cent this year.
Developers are expected to sell 15,000 flats this year, only half of the
residential units to be launched, according to forecasts.
Joblessness in the city rose to a
15-year high of 5.9 per cent in the two months ended in May, while the city
finds itself entangled in the deteriorating relations between the US and China
over everything from trade disputes to technology rivalry, and over the Chinese
legislature’s national security law for Hong Kong. Last week, the US Senate passed
a bill that could sanction China over the proposed security law for Hong Kong,
followed by visa restrictions overnight on unnamed Chinese officials involved in the law.
“Political events such as US
sanctions have a minor impact on the housing market based on previous
experience,” the agent said.
To drum up interest, CK Asset offer
potential buyer flexible payment terms, requiring them to deposit a sum equivalent
to 5 per cent of the discounted price to secure a property, cheaper than the
usual 10 per cent. Buyers who opt for this cheap down payment scheme are
eligible for a smaller discount of 3 percentage points compared with others,
agents said.
“Sales will pick up in the second
half to around 11,000 units, up from 7,000-8,000 units in the first six
months,” agent said, estimating that prices for the city will rise 5 per cent
this year. “The first half was affected by the pandemic as few new projects
were available for several months [during the peak of the pandemic].”
Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Wetland
Seasons Park in Tin Shui Wai recorded strong sales on June 6, the same day when
the more expensive Ocean Marini flats by Wheelock and Co in Tseung Kwan O posted
disappointing sales.
(The Standard)
