Secondary home sales edge up amid price wars

The secondary property market showed a slight rebound with six deals at 10 major housing estates over the weekend but continued to remain sluggish with significant discounts offered by new projects.

Centaline Property recorded six transactions at the 10 estates over the weekend, an increase of one compared to the previous weekend.

For the sixth consecutive weekend, the number of deals remained in the single digits, though gradually increasing from a low point. However, half of the estates still reported no deals.

Louis Chan Wing-kit, Asia-Pacific vice chairman of the residential division at Centaline, said that Yoho West, a new residential development in Tin Shui Wai initiated its first batch over the weekend at an extremely affordable price, drawing a considerable crowd of prospective buyers.

On Saturday, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) released the first batch of Yoho West, offering 350 flats at prices ranging from HK$2.99 million to HK$10.99 million after discounts.

The low pricing strategy has affected the secondary market, especially in the New Territories, prompting some second-hand property owners to enhance their negotiation flexibility, which successfully stimulates activity in the sluggish secondary market, said Chan.

Meanwhile, Midland Realty recorded six deals at 10 major housing estates, compared to the five the previous weekend, the sixth consecutive week of single-digit home transactions.

In Lai Chi Kok, a 638-square-foot flat in Mei Foo Sun Chuen was sold for HK$6.9 million, resulting in a paper loss of HK$1.55 million for the owner within six years.

Yoho West sold 338 out of 350 flats in the first round of sales, representing 97 percent of the total, and making it the best-performing new project in four months.

The developer generated over HK$1.78 billion from the sale of the 338 flats.

Deputy managing director Victor Lui Ting said that, given the high demand from previously subscribed buyers who were unable to secure an apartment, they plan to promptly release additional units to meet market demand.

Yoho West is set to release more flats as early as today, with the offerings focusing on studios.

The second round of sales is expected to take place over the upcoming weekend.