Prices for Kai Tak flats hiked

Staff reporter

The developers of phase 1 of The Pavilia Forest at the old Kai Tak airport runway has unveiled its third price list which offer 60 flats at an average of HK$18,469 per square foot after discounts, a hike of 5 percent compared to the previous list.

The latest list includes five one-bedroom, 48 two-bedroom, and seven three-bedroom flats with prices ranging from HK$4.16 million to HK$11.22 million, or HK$16,135 to HK$20,610 per sq ft, after discounts.

The project, developed by New World Development (0017) and Far East Consortium International (0035), will see the first round of sale of 198 flats on the various price lists this Saturday, with three special units to be sold by tender the same day.

Over 3,700 checks were received as of yesterday, making the flats on offer 18 times oversubscribed.

Meanwhile, K&K Property, the developer of SkyeHi in Tuen Mun, updated the price lists for the project yesterday to offer the remaining 33 flats and slashing prices by 45 percent.

In other property news, real estate consultant JLL said the Hong Kong government should set up a task force to assess the risks of the property market as the number of negative equity cases may exceed 100,000 should property prices fall by 10 percent this year.

The number of residential mortgages in negative equity - in which the loan is bigger than the value of the home - increased to 32,073 in March, according to earlier data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Joseph Tsang Hon-ping, chairman of JLL in Hong Kong, said the increase in negative equity cases has caused banks to adopt a conservative attitude towards mortgage lending, making it more difficult for first-time buyers to obtain mortgage loans.