Coast Line I flats over 95 percent sold

CK Asset (1113) sold more than 95 percent of all its 219 standard units at The Coast Line I in Yau Tong after sales kicked off yesterday, but warned that the property market would continue to be sluggish.

At least 209 flats, including all the one and two-bedroom units, were snapped up yesterday after the developer received nearly 9,000 checks, or 40 times the number of homes on sale.

The homes up for sale included 110 one-bedroom, 44 two-bedroom and 65 three-bedroom flats.

They were priced between HK$3.65 million and HK$13.4 million after discounts, from HK$13,381 to HK$18,239 per sq ft. The discounted price was HK$15,939 per sq ft on average.

The developer said more than 3,700 potential buyers showed up at the sales office yesterday and it was very satisfied with the sales performance.

Still, it was a sharp contrast to the second phase The Coast Line II of which all the 626 units were sold within a day - the highest in more than eight years - when the sales were launched a week ago.

The Coast Line II, averaging HK$14,868 per square foot after discounts, set a record of over 38,000 checks before the sales.

Executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung said that the market sentiment was weaker than expected and that the prices of all the unsold units in the first phase might be slightly higher than what the market could afford despite the three-bedrooms and sea views of the phase.

Chiu said buyers nowadays were "extremely sensitive" to price and would hesitate if the prices were even marginally above budget.

Meanwhile, in Tseung Kwan O, the developers of Villa Garda III in Lohas Park said another batch of at least 65 flats would be released as early as today.

The project, jointly developed by Sino Land (0083), K Wah International (0173), China Merchants Land (0978), and MTR Corp (0066), is about seven times oversubscribed with more than 1,050 checks placed for the 130 units included in the first batch.

The developers said over 5,000 groups of buyers have visited the show flats so far.

Also in Tseung Kwan O, developer Kowloon Development (0034) sold six homes at Manor Hill for a total of HK$28 million yesterday.

As the market remained focused on the primary market, homes in the secondary market have come under pressure with the number of transactions in 10 major housing estates falling 38 percent week-on-week to just five deals on the weekend, according to Midland Realty.

No transaction was recorded at eight of the 10 major housing estates, the agency said.