Most expensive Kai Tak project launch, first in two years, meets tepid demand amid market hit by protests and trade war
- The flats at Upper Riverbank had an average price of HK$24,677 (US$3,147) per sq ft, the highest of any new project ever launched there
- By early evening, just 97 of the 218 units built by Longfor and KWG had found owners
The most expensive new flats ever to go on the market at Kai Tak, the site of Hong Kong’s former international airport, met with a frosty reception on Friday as buyers held back amid a market reeling from months of civil unrest and the effects of the US-China trade war.
By 10pm, just 98 of the 218 units on sale at Upper Riverbank had found owners, a disappointing show when compared to similar project launches.
The first residential project at Kai Tak to be launched in the last two years “is selling relatively slowly”, said Sammy Po, chief executive of the residential division at Midland Realty.
The protracted trade stand-off between the world’s two largest economies and the political crisis that has engulfed Hong Kong are “still troubling the housing market”, he said.
Upper Riverbank is the first Hong Kong project by mainland Chinese developers Longfor Group and KWG Group.
Po said the strong sales seen in recent weeks at another new project, Cullinan West III, were down to the very low prices offered, which had “made potential buyers think they were bargains”.