New launches prevent Hong Kong’s housing estates from breaking price records as property supply glut lingers

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Almost 80 of the estates tracked by Centaline are shy of their previous peaks even as the closely watched Centa-City Leading Index recently set a new record

There are fewer investors in the market now, and newer developments that are more attractive to buyers, said Centaline’s Wong Leung-sing

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Prices at Residence Bel-Air had slumped by 27 per cent to HK$32,424 per square foot in the second week of August from their peak three years ago. Photo: David Wong

Lam Ka-sing

Published: 8:30am, 25 Aug 2021

Close to 80 housing estates across Hong Kong are still priced below their peaks, even though the city’s overall lived-in home prices recently soared to a new record.

Some of the developments have seen units changing hands for less than three quarters of their previous peaks reached two or three years ago.

Of the 133 major housing estates tracked by Centaline Property Agency, 77 are yet to scale new heights in terms of average price this year. Residence Bel-Air in the Southern district was the biggest lagger, and Allway Gardens in Tsuen Wan was the cheapest development, according to Centaline’s data.

The housing estates that are falling behind will find it difficult to reach their previous records as there are fewer investors in the market now, and newer developments that are more attractive to buyers, said Wong Leung-sing, senior associate director of research at Centaline.

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Prices at Residence Bel-Air, a favourite for mainland Chinese buyers, surged to HK$44,501 (US$5,711.41) per square foot in 2018 when investors were more willing to pay high prices to bet on future increases in value. The average price had slumped by 27 per cent to HK$32,424 per square foot in the second week of August this year.

New launches prevent Hong Kong’s housing estates from breaking price records as property supply glut lingers

Almost 80 of the estates tracked by Centaline are shy of their previous peaks even as the closely watched Centa-City Leading Index recently set a new record There are fewer investors in the market now, and newer developments that are more attractive to buyers, said Centaline’s Wong Leung-sing

Almost 80 of the estates tracked by Centaline are shy of their previous peaks even as the closely watched Centa-City Leading Index recently set a new record

There are fewer investors in the market now, and newer developments that are more attractive to buyers, said Centaline’s Wong Leung-sing