Emperor joins chorus for lower stamp duty

Emperor International (0163) vice-chairman Alexander Yeung Ching-loong has called on the government to lower the stamp duty for Hongkongers buying a second home amid a weak market sentiment.

Yeung also recommended deferring the payment of the buyer's stamp duty until the time when the purchaser sells the unit.

Local residents who already own a residential property are currently subject to a 15 percent ad valorem stamp duty for their subsequent home purchases. Non-permanent residents are required to pay both ad valorem stamp duty and buyer's stamp duty totaling 30 percent of the prices for any home purchases, though they can apply for a refund of the extra tax for their first home after getting the permanent residency.

Speaking at a naming ceremony of the developer's new project Southsky, Yeung said the recent performance of the property market was disappointing and he hoped there will be good news in the policy address next week.

The project in Aberdeen, to be sold at around that time, will provide a total of 110 flats, he noted.

Homes at the development range from 245 to 881 square feet and the first batch will involve at least 50 flats, said Yeung.

His suggestions were echoed by Habitat Property's founder and managing director Victoria Allan who said the government should remove all property cooling measures.

She believes this would help boost sentiment and transactions volumes by 5 to 10 percent, but not the prices as macro factors like the high rates and the economy continue to weigh on the market.

The Israel-Hamas war might push inflation up again and interest rates may therefore stay higher for longer, Allan said, adding that the rents of high-end residential properties on Hong Kong Island may rise by 10 percent next year as more people from both the mainland and overseas come to the city after Covid.

This came as the Lands Department said land premiums rocketed by nearly 27 times to HK$4.84 billion last quarter from the previous three months. It registered 29 lease modifications, nine land exchanges, and one lot extension in the Land Registry during the quarter ended September.

In the primary market, Chinachem sold a 1,367-sq-ft flat with three bedrooms at Victoria Coast in Pok Fu Lam via tender for HK$33.6 million, or HK$24,600 per sq ft, bringing the total number of sales to four homes.

In Shau Kei Wan, Nan Fung Group sold the last unit of Island Garden via tender. The 2,105-sq-ft home with two parking spaces was sold for HK$45 million, or HK$21,378 per sq ft.