Hong Kong homebuyers snap up first new property project in
two months, lured by discounts and falling interest rates
Hong Kong’s homebuyers snapped up
the city’s first fresh property launch in two months, attracted by discounts
and expectations of lower interest rates, even as the ongoing coronavirus
outbreak continued to weigh on business and retail sentiments.
Wheelock Properties said it sold 187
of the 208 flats, or 90 per cent of the units on offer at the Ocean Marini
project in Tseung Kwan O as of 9pm on Saturday, for a sales haul of HK$1.59
billion (US$204 million).
The flats were mostly two and
three-bedroom units ranging from 459 square feet to 1,062 sq ft (98 square
metres), priced between HK$6.6 million (US$848,727) and HK$17.7 million. On
average, the flats were sold at HK$15,698 per sq ft after discount, 1 per cent
cheaper than Wheelock’s project in the same neighbourhood launched last August.
The developer separately sold 11 apartments at the Marini project and 13 units
at the Grand Marini.
Customers were mostly buying the
flats for their own use, as opposed to buying them as investments, and many of
them were attracted by the trend of falling interest rates, which they expect
to translate into lower mortgage payments, agents said.
“Most clients are buying the flats
for themselves to live in, because it’s better to pay the mortgage of your own
flat than the rent during a low-interest rate environment,” agent said.
The brisk sale by Wheelock, one of
Hong Kong’s largest developers, is a much-needed shot in the arm for a city
deep in its first technical recession in more than a decade. Retail sales, and
overall consumption are in the doldrums as job prospects appear dismal in an
economy squeezed by more than a year of the US-China trade war, many months of
anti-government protests and now, the coronavirus pandemic
. Four people have died from
Covid-19, with about 140 people catching the virus as of Saturday evening.
“Given the heated response to Ocean
Marini, the company is considering putting more apartments onto the market
soon,” Wheelock said in a statement.
Hong Kong’s de facto central bank
cut its base lending rate by half a percentage point on March 4, following an
emergency cut by the US Federal Reserve to ward off the economic impact from
the coronavirus outbreak. The US Fed is widely expected to cut its key rate by
at least another 50 basis points on March 18, which would compel the Hong Kong
Monetary Authority (HKMA) to follow in lockstep.
A mortgage brokerage services
company providing mortgage packages that cover up to 80 per cent of the overall
payment for houses that are worth HK$8.3 million or less.
Before Ocean Marini, the last new
project put on the market was apartments at The Richmond in the Mid-Levels on
Hong Kong Island. The project was launched by Henderson Land Development on
January 21.
Buyers snapped up all of the 45
flats on offer in two sale sessions, showing a strong demand for smaller new
project in the swanky neighbourhood. The flats ranged from 206 to 300 sq ft and
were priced between HK$6.3 million and HK$9.7 million.
(South China Morning
Post)
