Pavilia Farm ends 2020 as Hong Kong’s best-selling new flats, helping New World top Sun Hung Kai as city’s biggest home seller

Project might help NWD displace Sun Hung Kai Properties as city’s biggest developer by sales this year

No big payday for agents despite ‘unbelievable’ sales, property agent says

Hong Kong property company New World Development’s (NWD) Pavilia Farm project has been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal year for the city’s real estate sector.

The project, developed in partnership with transit operator and property developer MTR Corporation, has sold about 2,100 units in around six weekends for almost HK$23.8 billion (US$3.06 billion).

NWD reported sales of HK$26.4 billion in the first 11 months of this year, which may help it displace Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) as Hong Kong’s biggest property developer by sales this year. SHKP, which has been the city’s biggest developer since 2016, reported sales of about HK$24 billion in the same period, shows data from provider Dataelements, which covers new residential property in Hong Kong. SHKP, however, remains a dominant player, launching new projects almost every month. For instance, it is expected to launch its St Michel project in Sha Tin in January.

Homebuyers have flocked to Pavilia Farm despite downbeat sentiment because of its quality, pricing and location. The project has been anticipated since NWD acquired the rights to develop the plot, which is owned by MTR Corporation, and its third phase, to be launched early next year, is also expected to be popular.

“Even people who had not planned on buying homes, or investing in property, wanted to lay their hands on it, as they think its prospects are good,” property agent said. The agent said that about 30 clients had been unable to buy flats because of the high demand and limited supply.

The developer said phase one of the project had received more than 22,000 registrations of intent from potential buyers. More than 2,100 units were sold during phases one and two in just over a month.

Proximity to important hubs such as Kowloon Tong and Sha Tin, its location on the Sha Tin-Central link, the large shopping centre being developed on site and NWD’s growing reputation had added to Pavilia Farm’s alure, agent said.

The quality and design of projects such as the K11 Musea shopping centre and Rosewood hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui had boosted NWD’s credentials, especially among younger buyers, agent said. The agent added that the improvements might be down to a bigger investment and efforts by Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, NWD’s 41-year-old executive vice-chairman. The developer’s status among buyers was “on par with Sun Hung Kai. In the past, it was always [led by] Sun Hung Kai”, agent said.

Pavilia Farm is the first new project in Tai Wai by NWD and MTR Corporation since their collaboration on The Riverpark in 2012 at Che Kung Temple station.

Sales at the development were the biggest since the sale of CK Asset Holdings’ Ocean Pride in Tsuen Wan, which sold 2,100 flats for about HK$25 billion in 2017, agent said.

The agent said the sales of new homes this year had declined because of the coronavirus pandemic, which had led to fewer launches. The agent expected that sales of new homes next year to reach 18,000 transactions, a level last seen in 2017.

Sales at the project have been “unbelievable”, another agent said. The agent added that the sales will not make agents millionaires, but just help them survive.

The agent oversees operations in Tai Wai, and the team there sold about 210 flats, or 10 per cent of total sales. The agent said that sales at Pavilia Farm had helped agents in close-by areas recover sales to pre-pandemic levels, but that would not be considered a boom. In a boom, business would be three or four times more than current levels, the agent added.

Property agencies earned a commission of 2.5 per cent on the project, but many have had to offer rebates to buyers. And agents only get about 10 per cent of the commission their agency earns. This means an agent got just HK$16,236 for the sale of a flat worth HK$12.99 million, assuming half of the 2.5 per cent was returned to the buyer as rebate. There are usually no bonuses or rewards for them.

Agent said that on average one in 10 agents in Sha Tin and Tai Wai struck a deal for Pavilia Farm.

(South China Morning Post)

代理：疫苗助恢復經濟活動帶動甲廈租賃

疫情尚未受控，營商前景欠佳，影響企業對寫字樓的需求。代理表示，據該行統計，今年11月港島區整體甲廈空置率錄得約9.11%，比10月上升0.74個百分點，若按地區分析，除了金鐘空置率下跌，餘下四大區域，分別銅鑼灣、灣仔、中環及上環甲廈空置率均按月遞增，升幅約0.57至1.08個百分點。

代理指，灣仔區的寫字樓空置率為五區最高，11月空置率為10.38%，較10月份9.3%升逾1個百分點，而備受關注的中環區，上月的空置率錄得約7.8%，按月上升0.93個百分點。

代理認為，歐美國家陸續開始全民注射疫苗，香港亦將迎來首批疫苗，期望有助舒緩疫情情況，屆時經濟活動有望可以逐步復甦，加上美國大選塵埃落定，中美關係有緩和跡象，兩國貿易改善都為寫字樓市場利好消息，但短期內商廈租賃活動仍受疫情及環球經濟情況影響，令各核心區甲廈空置情況難免受壓。代理預計，日後將待疫情消退、經濟活動復甦後，寫字樓租務將陸續起動，預期第二季市場會有起色。

另一方面，中環新海濱商業地皮於上周五 (18日) 正式招標，備受市場闗注，預計地皮招標結果將成為市場新指標，屆時甲廈空置率升勢有望遏止。

(明報)

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