雅居乐4.5亿 夺柏架山道合作社

首宗公务员合作社强拍项目昨日进行，由雅居乐  (03383) 收购的鰂鱼涌柏架山道2，4，6及8号属于公务员合作社物业，拍卖底价4.52亿元，由发展商代表以底价投得。

项目由雅居乐早前收购至逾9成业权，获土地审裁处批出强拍令。今次强拍只餘最后一个单位未获收购，但该名「钉子户」却向发展商开价8,000万元赔偿，以及获得项目重建后面积逾5,000平方呎的单位。

拟合併比邻地皮 建3幢住宅

雅居乐集团回应查询时指，在是次统一业权后，连同早前已获取的三个临近地皮，有意重整地盘作合併发展，而目前规划发展方案正在準备中，初步计划用于兴建3座住宅，总发展楼面预计逾40万平方呎。

该公司续指，集团长远看好香港房地产市场，认为疫情下短暂经济冲击并不会影响香港国际金融中心地位，也不会减低香港住宅物业作为优质持有资产的长远吸引力。

代理指，今次是首次有公务员合作社进行强拍，但由于小业主未有律师代表，法庭上仍然有不少问题未完全讨论，包括《强拍条例》是否可以取消地契上的买卖限制、改动会否影响有关公务员的僱用条件、影响小业购置同样单位的权利等。

根据法庭早前批出的判决书显示，该柏架山地盘地契限制的可建楼面仅29,103平方呎，按照成交价4.52万平方呎，每呎楼面地价达1.55万元。不过，发展商可以透过补地价，将地积比率放宽，可建楼面最多可以提高至12.73万平方呎。

(经济日报)

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.