Buoyant primary market stifles secondary sales

Hong Kong's primary housing market maintained its momentum over the weekend with brisk sales at Onmantin in Ho Man Tin and The Yoho Hub II in Yuen Long, as second-hand home deals continued to languish.

Phase IIB of Onmantin, developed by Great Eagle (0041) and MTR Corp (0066), sold 202 out of 248 flats on offer in the second round of sales by 6pm yesterday, after group B sales on Saturday was postponed to Sunday.

Together with tendered sales at Phase IIA, Onmantin reported 504 transactions worth over HK$6.2 billion in 11 days.

In Kau To Shan, El Futuro recorded 10 deals over the mainland's five-day May Day holiday through yesterday, cashing in over HK$194 million, said CK Asset (1113).

CKA also plans to sell six flats at the project this Thursday, with prices ranging from HK$17.25 million to HK$21.83 million after discounts.

Wheelock Properties said 12 homes at the Seasons series in Lohas Park were sold over the five-day break.

In Pok Fu Lam, Chinachem's luxury project Victoria Coast sold a home by tender for HK$30 million, or HK$21,946 per square foot.

Meanwhile, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) said it received more than 3,600 checks for 282 flats in the price lists of The Yoho Hub II, making them nearly 12 times oversubscribed.

On Saturday, SHKP unveiled a second price list for 94 more flats, with the cheapest priced at HK$6.84 million after discounts.

The latest batch of flats has an average price of HK$15,038 per sq ft after discounts, up by nearly 5 percent from the first batch. But the figure is still 24.4 percent cheaper than the first price list of The Yoho Hub I.

Henderson Land Development (0012) opened the new sales center and show flats for Gateway Square Mile in Mong Kok yesterday.

In contrast, weekend transactions at 10 major housing estates fell 27 percent to eight over the previous week, data from Centaline Property Agency showed.

Louis Chan Wing-kit, Asia Pacific vice chairman of the residential division at Centaline, said attractively priced new homes on the market and adverse weather impacted secondary sales, even though the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as expected.

Hong Kong Property Services reported only two deals at blue-chip estates, down by 78 percent and hitting a two-week low.