'Explosively cheap flats'

CK Asset has unveiled the first price list of its new project The Coast Line II in Yau Tong that offers at an average price of HK$14,997 per square foot after discounts - a seven-year low for a home in the urban area.

And Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, chairman of CK Asset, said it is better to buy a home or land today than three years ago.

On the project's "explosively cheap" pricing, Li said the developer always offers prices at market levels or below to promote home sales.

CK Asset highlighted that the cheapest units cost HK$2.9 million after discounts - the lowest-priced new homes in Kowloon in some four years.

The 132 flats at The Coast Line II's first batch cost between HK$2.9 million and HK$11.14 million after discounts.

They comprise 22 studios and 43 one-bedroom, 52 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom apartments, with areas ranging from 210 to 718 sq ft.

The cheapest studio works out to around HK$13,810 per sq ft. The cheapest one-bedroom flat is HK$3.77 million or 13,868 per sq ft, and the cheapest three-bedroom unit is HK$10.37 million or HK$14,443 per sq ft.

The lowest-priced two-bedroom unit, at HK$6.04 million after discounts, costs HK$13,443 per sq ft, which CK Asset said is believed to be the lowest among new homes in East Kowloon in recent years.

The average price per sq ft of HK$14,997 for the first batch at The Coast Line II is, compared to nearby projects, 16.4 percent down from HK$17,938 at Chill Residence in 2022, and 15 percent cheaper than HK$17,688 at Montego Bay in 2020.

The average price is the lowest among new projects in the urban area in the past seven years. For One Kai Tak (I) in 2016 the average price was HK$14,472.

Li also said: "If a person wants to buy a home for his or her own use, and can afford it, I think now is actually a better time than three years ago." That is because, he added, the likelihood of the interest rate dropping now is higher than it going up further while land prices might not drop further.

CK Asset executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung said the developer "does not have to earn as much as it can" because it has the responsibility to help solve the housing problem.

Chiu said he expects home prices in the second half to remain stable overall or up and down by a small margin.

Hours after the price list was released, the secondary market reported price cuts.

Laguna City in Lam Tin recorded over 10 cases of price reduction, while some homeowners at Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O offered discounts of 3 to 5 percent.

The property market has turned sluggish, with private home prices falling in May and June, amid concerns about US interest rate hikes, and the slower economic recovery in Hong Kong and in the mainland.

Before CK Asset's announcement yesterday, Henderson Land Development priced the cheapest unit in the first batch for Baker Circle Greenwich in Hung Hom at 11 percent lower than similar projects.

Standing at the seafront in East Kowloon, The Coast Line will provide a total of 886 units in two phases.

Sales are expected to begin as soon as this month.

Additionally, the mortgage-related one-month Hong Kong interbank offered rate fell to 5.36 percent yesterday, ending a rally for six days in a row.

themis.qi@singtaonewscorp.com

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