Hong Kong property: Wheelock sells 75 per cent of flats in first batch of Koko Mare project in Lam Tin
- Homebuyers snapped up 103 of 138 flats at Wheelock Properties’ Koko Mare in Lam Tin within three hours on Saturday
- Property demand has surged in Hong Kong amid hopes that the city has reached the peak of interest rate increases
Wheelock Properties sold 103, or 75 per cent, of the 138 flats on offer in its latest Lam Tin Project within three hours after sales began on Saturday, as the reopening of Hong Kong’s border with mainland China and other positive developments boost homebuyers’ sentiments.
The units at Koko Mare, phase 3B of the Koko Hills development, consist of one to two-bedroom units ranged between 300 to 400 sq ft. After discounts, they were priced between HK$5,937,000 (US$756,000) to HK$9,931,000, with an average price of HK$17,000 to HK$23,039 per sq ft.
“The sales were strong,” said Sammy Po Siu-ming, CEO of Midland Realty’s residential division for Hong Kong and Macau. “The project received positive responses from homebuyers, especially young people aged below 40, who accounted for 70 per cent of all buyers.”
The enthusiastic response to Koko Hills matches last month’s robust sales of the 160 flats offered in the second batch of its sibling project, Koko Rosso. Buyers snapped up nearly all units within a day.
“The new launches have received good market responses, and home prices in the first quarter have risen 5 to 6 per cent from the fourth quarter last year,” said Ricky Wong, managing director at Wheelock. “I expect that rising trend to extend into this month.”
But Hong Kong’s major lenders, including HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong), kept their best lending rates unchanged at 5.625 per cent, while Standard Chartered kept its prime rates unchanged at 5.875 per cent.
The city may see a 50 per cent jump in home transactions this year, which will be especially encouraging to younger buyers, according to analysts.
“The interest rate is likely to have hit the peak level, which may attract first-time homebuyers and investors to buy properties,” said Louis Chan, vice-chairman and CEO of Centaline’s residential department in Asia-Pacific.
In March, Hong Kong recorded 8,202 home transactions, the highest level in 20 months and up 37.2 per cent compared with February, according to data compiled by Midland Properties. It was also the third consecutive month that the city saw an increase in home transactions.
“As more projects will be launched in April, we expect Hong Kong to see more than 2,500 new homes sold this month,” said Chan.
An online survey conducted between March 1 to March 7 by 28Hse.com, a Hong Kong-based property information provider, showed that above half of the 3,528 interviewees expected Hong Kong’s home prices to rise in the coming 12 months, while 20 per cent of respondents estimated that prices would drop 10 per cent.
About 37 per cent of the respondents said they were currently very interested in buying a new home, while 22 per cent said they had no such plans.
