SHKP's Novo Land maintains prices in new list

Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) unveiled the second price list of its new project in Tuen Mun yesterday, keeping the price of the latest batch of Phase 2A of Novo Land largely same as the last one.

This came as the property market remained lackluster with only four units sold in the 10 major housing estates over the weekend.

SHKP's latest release includes 93 flats priced HK$13,888 per square foot after discounts on average. This is 2.1 percent above the HK$13,598 of the first batch, taking into account different views and levels.

The batch comprises units from studio flats to three-bedroom apartments with sizes ranging from 245 to 667 sq ft. They are being sold for HK$3.49 million to HK$8.5 million after discounts, or between HK$12,728 and HK$14,775 per sq ft.

More than 30,000 people have visited the showrooms, according to the developer. It expected to receive some 3,000 checks by yesterday, that would make the 279 units in the two batches nearly 10 times oversubscribed.

Sales are expected to take place at the weekend at the earliest.

In the secondary market, Centaline Property Agency recorded only four transactions in the 10 blue-chip housing estates over the weekend, a 20 percent drop from the previous week.

It was the fifth consecutive week with single-digit sale results. There was no transaction in six estates.

Louis Chan Wing-kit, Asia-Pacific vice-chairman of the agency's residential division, said market sentiments remained weak amid interest rate hikes and volatile stock performances.

"There's no positive news for the market for now," Chan said.

However, Chan believes property prices would start picking up in the second half of the year once the financial market stabilizes.

In a related development, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was reported to have increased the cash rebates to 3 percent - the highest since 2007 - for the mortgage loans of certain customers in order to compete with other money lenders.

With a view to increasing its market share, HSBC is reportedly offering a 3 percent rebate for selected customers who apply to borrow mortgage loans of at least HK$5 million. The loan size should also account for 90 percent of the value of the property concerned.

Peers like Hang Seng Bank (0011) and BOC Hong Kong (2388) have also introduced similar promotions to boost their mortgage business.

However, mortgage advisors said the incentives may be temporary and a further increase in rebates is unlikely given the slim profit margin.