Hong Kong's homebuyers snapped up a collection of tiny flats on offer over the weekend at Lohas Park in Kowloon's Tseung Kwan O area, shrugging off the record price that was 30 per cent more than the most recent launch in the neighbourhood.

Kowloon Development sold 326 of the 438 tiny flats at its Manor Hill project in Lohas Park as of 9pm, property agents said. The flats measure between 203 square feet (18.9 square metres) and 428 sq ft, with prices from HK$3.88 million (US$499,000) going up to HK$9.2 million. The average price of HK$20,921 (US$2,690) per square foot was a record, making Manor Hill the most expensive new launch at Lohas Park.

Still, the tiny flats required smaller capital outlay than larger apartments, a key consideration that attracted many buyers on the first rung of the property ladder or young couples, said Midland Realty's residential division chief executive Sammy Po.

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"We expected sales to be good because of its low entry price, and the project is attractive for young buyers as Lohas Park is becoming popular, with an MTR [subway] station and a shopping centre," Po said, adding that some customers were keen to fork out HK$13 million for two single-bedroom flats for investment. "About 80 per cent of the [buyers] are young people. Half of them would receive financial help from their parents."

The modest success of Manor Hill underscores Hong Kong's real estate bull run, which has gathered momentum in recent months in tandem with the city's economic recovery and low interest rate.

The buying momentum for new homes is likely to improve in the remainder of the year, Po said, and the sales of newly completed abodes may rise to 1,800 units in October, increasing to 2,000 next month, he said.

Manor Hill is being offered at a price range of between HK$18,972 per square foot and HK$24,315 per sq ft after a 3 per cent discount. That made it about 30 per cent higher than the LP10 housing project by Nan Fung Group and the subway operator MTR Corporation in the same neighbourhood.

This weekend's launch reversed the tepid reception the previous Saturday when Centralcon Properties sold fewer than half of the 338 flats at The Arles project in Sha Tin, while Wheelock Properties found buyers for only four of the 101 apartments at Koko Hills in Nam Tin.

Home sales in Hong Kong have picked up as "confidence returned to the market at levels not seen in years," said Victoria Allan, founder and managing director of Habitat Property.

"The market and investor sentiment has softened in the last two weeks" at the start of the year's final quarter, but the longer-term outlook remained very strong, she said.

"Hong Kong property is reclaiming its status as an attractive asset class," Allan said. "Stabilising business, market liquidity, and low rates home mean owners willing to hold for the next 5 to 10 years can be assured of secure capital growth."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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