Forty three more eResidence flats up for sale

The last batch of 43 "eResidence" flats will be sold under the Starter Home Scheme in the third quarter this year, according to the Urban Renewal Authority.
"eResidence" in Ma Tau Wai is the first project in the Starter Home Scheme. The first batch of 450 eResidence flats were sold at 62 percent of the market price.
Another 43 flats had been reserved for residents who are affected by redevelopment. But as they were left unchosen, the flats will be sold to the public.
URA managing director Wai Chi-sing said: “The 43 units are mostly three-room flats, and will be priced at around HK$9 million if sold at a 38 percent discount.”
The exact discount will be determined later, depending on the rate for the new Home Ownership Scheme flats. Details will be announced in August, and the URA will accept applications by the third quarter of this year.
Wai also said that around 440 out of 450 eResidence flat buyers have completed the deed of assignment while 50 of them have completed the whole transaction and claimed possession of the flats.
He said: “Among those buyers, around 80 percent were young couples in their twenties and thirties, over 70 percent of these couples have a family income of HK$60,000 per month, but possess less than HK$1 million in assets.”
URA chairman Chow Chung-kong said the URA has decided to roll out a phase two of eResidence.
“We will be using a development project on Chun Tin Street/Sung Chi Street, which is next to eResidence, to develop a ‘phase two’ of the eResidence and provide around 280 units,” Chow said.
He added: “Like the eResidence flats, they will also be sold under the Starter Home Scheme.”
Meanwhile, the URA also said yesterday that it is expecting to see a deficit of around HK$100 million in the 2020/21 financial year compared to a surplus of HK$117 million as of March this year.
Chow said: “We will be experiencing a shortage in our cash flow in coming years, and will therefore put in place suitable external financing arrangements to ensure sufficient funding.”
But a government injection is not needed, as the URA will remain self-sufficient in the years to come.