Slump in Secondary Housing Market Amid New Developments and Weather Challenges

This past weekend, ten major housing estates observed a notable decline in transactions, recording just eight deals—the lowest in nearly eight months. This downturn is attributed to an increase in new property launches by developers and recent adverse weather conditions.

The estates, monitored by Centaline Property, experienced an 11.1 percent decrease in transactions, marking the third consecutive weekend of single-digit sales volumes, a new low for the past eight weeks.

Among the estates, four saw no transactions at all: Kornhill in Quarry Bay, South Horizons in Ap Lei Chau, Metro City in Tseung Kwan O, and City One Shatin.

Centaline's executive director, Louis Chan Wing-kit, noted that the scarcity of affordable second-hand housing options is making buyers hesitant to engage in higher-priced deals. This reluctance is shifting their focus towards the primary market, which continues to introduce competitively priced, diverse new properties.

This trend was evident in the sales performance of Wheelock Properties' Park Seasons, phase 12B of Lohas Park, which managed to sell 126 out of 168 units, or 75 percent, during its initial round of sales on Saturday. This rate pales in comparison to the complete sell-out of all 368 units at nearby Seasons Place during its first round last month.

The units at Park Seasons range from 322 to 496 square feet and are priced between HK$4.54 million and HK$7.7 million, averaging HK$14,632 per square foot after discounts.

Stewart Leung Chi-kin, Chairman of Wheelock Properties, revealed that the company is preparing to launch additional projects to cater to ongoing demand. He announced that details about a new project in Wan Chai would be released as early as next month.

Another noteworthy development, Onmantin atop the Ho Man Tin MTR station, developed by Great Eagle (0041) and MTR Corp (0066), received over 2,500 checks for 203 units, resulting in an oversubscription rate of about 12 times. This project recently opened 84 apartments for sale by tender.

Meanwhile, Henderson Land Development (0012) is set to sell 18 units at The Quinn - Square Mile in Mong Kok tomorrow, following the receipt of occupation permits last week, with some unit prices seeing up to a 4 percent increase.