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New World’s project sells out in Tai Wai as discounts and location draw homebuyers to ignore oversupply and recession

New World Development sold all 157 flats released in the second batch at The Pavilia Farm in Tai Wai as of 4pm on Sunday

The Pavilia Farm received 22,763 registrations of intent for the 391 flats that went on sale

New World Development sold all 157 flats on offer Sunday at The Pavilia Farm project in Tai Wai as of 4pm after buyers lapped up 234 flats in the previous batch on Saturday, the first sell-out for a new property launch in a month.

Homebuyers packed the sales venue on Sunday to snap up the flats, as generous discounts persuaded them to cast aside signs of an impending property glut and rising joblessness amid Hong Kong’s worst recession.

The batch on Saturday was reserved for investors with the budget for at least two units each, while the Sunday batch allowed investors to buy one or more units.

“We saw some homebuyers on Sunday buying two units for self-use rather than investment,” agent said.

The developer received 22,763 registrations of interest for the 391 flats on sale over the two days, or 58 buyers for each available unit, a record show of interest since 1997. Prices started at HK$6.29 million, or HK$16,618 per square foot, going up to HK$19.9 million for a three-bedroom unit measuring 835 sq ft, after a 20 per cent discount.

“This is a rebound for the property market after the end of the third wave of coronavirus in Hong Kong,” another agent said. “The market reaction is very strong because of the attractive location and price of this project.”

The Pavilia Farm, comprising several tower blocks and the largest shopping centre in the eastern New Territories built atop the Tai Wai subway station, comprises 3,090 flats in total over several phases. The first phase to be released for sale will have 783 units.

“This project is immensely popular because of its convenient location, and Tai Wai hasn’t had a new residential project in 10 years. The future expansion of the Tuen-Ma line and a shopping centre over Tai Wai station will only make it more attractive,” agent said.

Homebuyers piled into the project. The last time a property launch was this hot was during the previous peak of Hong Kong’s property market in 1997, when the Villa Esplanada in Tsing Yi received 30,400 bids and East Point City received 27,000 registrations of interest.

New World’s successful launch points the way for Hong Kong’s developers to weather the city’s worst recession on record, and to prepare for an oversupply of homes due to flood the city.

Up to 11,578 new homes in 38 projects could be launched in the last quarter of 2020, according to developers’ websites and Lands Department reports of presale consent.

The city’s rate of unemployment stood at 6.1 per cent in August during the height of the third wave of coronavirus infections. Hong Kong’s economy is expected to shrink 6 to 8 per cent this year, marking the first back-to-back annual contractions since record-keeping began in 1961.

Discounts appear to be the order of the day, as owner-occupiers and investors have more options to choose from, which give them the luxury of picking for the best deals on offer, agents said.

Proving the point, MCC Real Estate sold seven of 54 flats offered at its L’aquatique project in Tsuen Wan. The units at L’aquatique cost between HK$4.9 million and HK$7 million for flats ranging from 300 sq ft to 429 sq ft.

“As the coronavirus [outbreak] is coming under control, the impact on the housing market won’t be that big,” agent said. With the US Federal Reserve keeping interest rates low for the next three years, the large amount of liquidity flowing into Hong Kong is helping to support the property market, the agent said.

New World’s sell-out launch reversed two consecutive weekends of flops, when CK Asset Holdings and Sun Hung Kai Properties failed in their attempt to clear unsold property in Hong Kong, amid expectations that the Hong Kong government would increase land supply, which would flood the market with homes and cause prices to drop.

China Evergrande Group failed to unload its leftover flats at the Emerald Bay project. In the two projects that were on offer last week, CK Asset Holdings sold 59 out of the 285 units at the Sea To Sky project at Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O, while Sun Hung Kai sold six out of the 18 flats at Mount Regency in Tuen Mun.

Hong Kong developers, looking for a strong finish to the year on the back of new project launches, could see their hopes dashed, as analysts fear the market may be unable to fully absorb the new supply amid the possibility of a fourth wave of coronavirus outbreak that could pummel the city’s economy further.

The likelihood of selling all these units, however, seems like a tall order given that only 10,041 new homes were sold in the first nine months, compared with 16,851 units in the same period last year, government data showed.

(South China Morning Post)

 

雅居樂4.5億 奪柏架山道合作社

首宗公務員合作社強拍項目昨日進行,由雅居樂  (03383) 收購的鰂魚涌柏架山道2,4,6及8號屬於公務員合作社物業,拍賣底價4.52億元,由發展商代表以底價投得。

項目由雅居樂早前收購至逾9成業權,獲土地審裁處批出強拍令。今次強拍只餘最後一個單位未獲收購,但該名「釘子戶」卻向發展商開價8,000萬元賠償,以及獲得項目重建後面積逾5,000平方呎的單位。

擬合併比鄰地皮 建3幢住宅

雅居樂集團回應查詢時指,在是次統一業權後,連同早前已獲取的三個臨近地皮,有意重整地盤作合併發展,而目前規劃發展方案正在準備中,初步計劃用於興建3座住宅,總發展樓面預計逾40萬平方呎。

該公司續指,集團長遠看好香港房地產市場,認為疫情下短暫經濟衝擊並不會影響香港國際金融中心地位,也不會減低香港住宅物業作為優質持有資產的長遠吸引力。

代理指,今次是首次有公務員合作社進行強拍,但由於小業主未有律師代表,法庭上仍然有不少問題未完全討論,包括《強拍條例》是否可以取消地契上的買賣限制、改動會否影響有關公務員的僱用條件、影響小業購置同樣單位的權利等。

根據法庭早前批出的判決書顯示,該柏架山地盤地契限制的可建樓面僅29,103平方呎,按照成交價4.52萬平方呎,每呎樓面地價達1.55萬元。不過,發展商可以透過補地價,將地積比率放寬,可建樓面最多可以提高至12.73萬平方呎。

(經濟日報)