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Hong Kong homebuyers snap up most units at Henderson Land's The Upper South

By Iris Ouyang iris.ouyang@scmp.com

/ https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3135396/hong-kong-homebuyers-snap-most-units-henderson-lands-upper-south?utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=contentexchange&utm_source=EdgeProp&utm_content=3135396 |

June 2, 2021 12:05 PM SGT

Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up new flats on Sunday on optimism about a recovery in the city's economy.

Out of a first batch of 45 units on sale at Henderson Land's The Upper South in Ap Lei Chau, 41 - or about 91 per cent - were sold by the evening, according to agents. The batch, which included 20 studios and 25 one-room flats, went on sale at 2pm.

"The sales performance is good, as people are optimistic about the economy in the second half of this year, when the GDP is expected to rebound and the Covid-19 situation is expected to be under control in Hong Kong," said Sammy Po, chief executive of the residential division at Midland Realty, the project's sales agent.

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The sales came after a gradual recovery in Hong Kong's economy, which pushed up the prices of lived-in homes in April to their highest level since July 2019. Growth in the city's gross domestic product rebounded to a higher-than-expected 7.8 per cent, a 11-year high, in the first quarter. The city's

unemployment rate has also declined, as the local Covid-19 outbreak recedes.

Meanwhile, a lottery for fully vaccinated permanent residents of the city organised by property groups has helped with the take up of Covid-19 vaccinations, which is expected to further help property sales.

The Upper South first batch received more than 450 registrations of interest - or 10 times the number of units on offer - before the sales. About 60 per cent of the homebuyers were buying for their own use, according to Midland. They were attracted to the project because of its proximity to Lei Tung Station, Po said.

The rest of the sales were long-term investments, which came with central banks globally pumping liquidity to buoy economies amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The first batch, which ranged from 183 sq ft to 264 sq ft in size, was priced at HK$4.28 million (US$551,412) to HK$6.78 million, or HK$22,990 to HK$27,058 per square feet. "The price is attractive to young people, and it is located in an urban area," Po said.

Two projects put on sale last week were met with a sluggish response. Road King sold 22 out of the 106 flats on offer at its South Land project in Wong Chuk Hang. In Tuen Mun, Sun Hung Kai Properties sold only 13 flats out of 82 on offer during the second phase of its Regency Bay project.

Po said the local real estate market would perform better in the future despite last week's poor sales performance. He forecast 2,500 transactions in the primary market in June, which he said will be the highest level for the market since November last year. He also forecast 5,000 sales in the secondary market. For the whole year, the average housing price will see a 2 per cent to 3 per cent rise, he added.

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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