Hong Kong buyers pile into Sun Hung Kai’s new flats in Tuen Mun on hopes of a speedy recovery

Hong Kong’s property buyers flocked to new flats on offer at Tuen Mun, as the wealth effect from the stock market and an expanded roll-out of vaccinations bolstered expectations of an economic recovery and lifted sentiments.

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) sold 117 flats, or 90 per cent of the first batch of 129 units on offer, at the Regency Bay II project as of 7.30pm on Saturday, according to sales agents. It is the first new property project launched in 2021 by the biggest local real-estate developer by market capitalisation. 

The developer raised the average price of the second phase of Regency Bay to HK$18,419 (US$2,372) per square foot, almost 6 per cent above the catalogue price of the first phase released last July. The units on offer were priced between HK$5.68 million and HK$8.6 million, for flats measuring from 299 square feet (27.8 square metres) to 448 square feet. The phase two project will feature 406 flats when it is completed in June.

“The Regency project has received a big welcome because of real demand and the size of the flats,” said Louis Chan Wing-kit, vice-chairman and chief executive of residential for Asia-Pacific at Centaline Property Agency. “All the units are priced below HK$10 million each. The developer will probably put more up for sale, and even a price increase between 1 and 2 per cent would [still] be affordable to buyers.”

Hong Kong’s property market, the world’s most expensive, recovered better than expected in the first quarter after being walloped by the outbreak of Covid-19 last year. Overall property transactions, including residential, commercial and industrial properties, and parking spaces, soared 79 per cent from a year earlier in the three-month period, according to Centaline.