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Hong Kong homebuyers defy broken economy, surging unemployment, snapping up flats at Wheelock’s Monaco project in Kai Tak
- The second round of sales at the development saw almost all of the 133 units on offer taken within a few hours
- The buoyant sales will have surprised many analysts concerns that sky-high unemployment might undermine demand for residential property
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Enthusiastic homebuyers defied concerns that Hong Kong’s sky-high unemployment rate and economic malaise might undermine demand by snapping up new flats offered by Wheelock Properties at its Monaco project on Thursday.
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The second round of sales at the development in Kai Tak saw almost all of the 133 units taken within five hours. All 13 flats offered by tender and all but three of the 120 on an open price list had been sold as of 9pm, Wheelock said.
The tendered units received 31 bids, at prices ranging from HK$24,787 to HK$27,822 per square foot, generating HK$257.48 million in proceeds.
It followed a successful first round of sales on Sunday, at which all 145 units sold in less than six hours.
The buoyant sales will have come as a pleasant surprise to many analysts, who expected demand to be severely dampened by an economy devastated by the coronavirus and last year’s protest movement.
In addition to unemployment at a 16-year high, many people have taken pay cuts or unpaid leave, denting their purchasing power, said Thomas Lam Ho-man, the head of valuation and advisory at Knight Frank Greater China.
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