Hong Kong’s homebuyers shrug aside coronavirus relapse to snap up SHKP’s Regency Bay flats in Tuen Mun

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) sold 105 flats, or nearly 97 per cent of the 108 units on offer at its Regency Bay project, as of 10pm

More than 1,700 people submitted bids at the launch, or nearly 16 people for each available flat.

Hong Kong’s homebuyers braved social distancing rules and a record relapse in the city’s coronavirus infections, as they turned out in droves to snap up some of the most expensive newly launched homes in Tuen Mun in the New Territories.

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Hong Kong’s biggest developer by market capitalisation, sold 105 flats, or nearly 97 per cent of the 108 units on offer at its Regency Bay project, as of 4pm, according to sales agents. More than 1,700 people submitted bids at the launch, or nearly 16 people for each available flat.

“We are seeing a strong turnout, with many prospective homebuyers coming to view and select flats,” agent said. “The strong sales show that home buying sentiment had not been affected by the third wave of coronavirus infections in the city, or the escalating US-China tensions.”

The performance by SHKP would bolster the confidence of other developers who are closely watching for signs of resilience in the world’s most expensive home market, which is being weighed down by an unprecedented economic slump. Joblessness in the city rose to its highest level in more than 15 years, hitting 6.2 per cent in the three months ended in June, as the city finds itself entangled in the deteriorating relations between the United States and China.

Regency Bay’s prices start at HK$4.68 million for a studio flat measuring 261 square feet, after discounts, going up to HK$7.3 million for a two-bedroom apartment of 437 sq ft (40.6 square metres).

The average price of the first 108 flats on offer was HK$17,498 per square foot after discounts, nearly 30 per cent higher than Henderson Land’s new batch of flats at Seacoast Royale, which go on sale on Sunday in the same district.

The first batch of 123 flats at Seacoast Royale start from HK$2.9 million for a 207 sq ft unit, with an average price of HK$13,578 per sq ft after discounts.

“The property sector has benefited from the large amounts of liquidity flowing in the economy and quantitative easing measures,” agent said. “Some of that new money has gone into the property market.”

SHKP’s selling price is 39.4 per cent higher than the HK$12,548 per sq ft for Oma by the Sea launched in May by Wing Tai Properties. It is also 15.4 per cent higher than the HK$15,166 per sq ft for the second phase of its own Mount Regency launched in June last year.

Meanwhile, used homes in Tuen Mun average HK$11,738 per sq ft, about 49 per cent cheaper than Regency Bay, according to property agency.

“Even though the coronavirus situation in the city has grown much more severe over the past week, developers are quite confident that homebuyers who still want to purchase flats will show up,” agent said.

SHKP’s premium pricing strategy is an extension of CK Asset’s Sea to Sky project in Lohas Park, which proved successful as almost all the flats were sold, even with a catalogue price 20 per cent higher than comparable projects in the neighbourhood, with as many as 28 bidders vying for every available unit.

Wheelock Properties, however, could not replicate the success, with buyers picking up slightly more than half the units on offer at Koko Hills in Kowloon East in the first phase.