New Wong Tai Sin homes expected to‘sell well’ in Hong Kong’s first weekend property sales in 2024

Hong Kong’s first weekend of property sales of the year kicked off on Saturday, with buyers snapping up nearly 60 per cent of the flats offered at a small residential project in Wong Tai Sin by late afternoon.

As of 4pm, Wang On Properties had sold 95 of the first batch of 165 units on offer at Phoenext, the first new residential development to be put on public sale in 2024.

The one and two-bedroom flats – measuring 200 to 356 square feet and priced below HK$4 million and HK$6 million, respectively, after discounts – were oversubscribed by more than six times as of Friday. The price per square foot after discounts ranged from HK$14,251 to HK$19,083.

Local agents expected sales to exceed 100 units.

“The project is expected to sell well with no less than 80 per cent of the units to be snapped up today,” said Sammy Po Siu-ming, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential division for Hong Kong and Macau, earlier.

Smaller Hong Kong builders use discounts to offload flats before Lunar New Year

The Phoenext development consists of 230 units varying from studios to two-bedroom units, measuring 178 to 375 sq ft.

Located in a well-developed area of Kowloon, the project has attracted substantial interest from local buyers nearby, who accounted for 50 per cent of the registered visitors, according to Louis Chan Wing-kit, CEO of the residential division at Centaline Property Agency.

Further south in Kai Tak, K Wah International, Wheelock Properties and China Overseas Land and Investment on Saturday launched another round of sales for the phase 1 of KT Marina.

A total of 211 flats, consisting of both newly launched and previously unsold units, were put up for sale. None of them were sold as of noon, according to agents. Six more units will be offered for sale on Sunday by tender. The price list showed the newly launched units were offered at roughly HK$10 million to HK$11 million.

Property prices appear to be bottoming out, said Centaline’s Chan, as the market anticipates an interest-rate cut in the US within this year.

“If the government follows suit and further reduces the interest rate, it is believed that the transaction volume in the property market will be stimulated,” said Chan, adding that property prices could rise by 5 per cent this year.

Property transactions in Hong Kong descended to the lowest level in 33 years in 2023 as poor economic news and high interest rates took a toll on buyer sentiment.

Hong Kong home sales sink to 33-year low in 2023

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) maintained its base rate at 5.75 per cent last month, after the Federal Reserve left its target rate in the 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent range.

It was the fourth pause since the Fed began its rate-hike cycle in March 2022. In total, the HKMA increased the base rate by 525 basis points since March 2022, even as the city’s economy was mired in a recession.

The Hong Kong government has been trying to boost the property market as well as attract talent to the city with the relaxation of stamp duty for non-local buyers.

In October, the government halved the non-permanent resident buyers’ stamp duty to 7.5 per cent and waived the special stamp duty equivalent to 10 per cent of a home price for owners who resell property after two years, from three years previously.