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Hong Kong’s appetite for new homes is almost sated as weekend sale washes out amid looming property supply

  • In Tuen Mun, Sun Hung Kai Properties sold 83 per cent of the 223 flats in Phase 2A of its Novo Land project, a setback compared with last week
  • Over at Ho Man Tin, Chinachem Group found just one buyer for the 66 larger apartments on sale at In One Above

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People queued for Phase 2A of the Novo Land project in Tuen Mun at Sun Hung Kai Properties’ sales office in Kowloon on 17 June 2023. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Hong Kong’s appetite for new homes is almost sated, as a weekend property launch left dozens of flats unsold while a leftover project barely received a look-in.

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In Tuen Mun, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) sold 186 units, or 83 per cent of the 223 flats in Phase 2A of its Novo Land project, a setback compared with a week ago when all 188 flats on offer found buyers, according to sales agents.

Over at Ho Man Tin, Chinachem Group found just one buyer for the 66 larger apartments on sale at In One Above. The project’s average price ranges from HK$21,948 to HK$31,137 (US$3,981) per square foot after discounts.

“The market is not good [and] has gone quiet for a long time,” said Centaline Property Agency’s Asia-Pacific vice-chairman Louis Chan, adding that “the customer source has been exhausted” for the current phase of SHKP’s project in Tuen Mun.

Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Novo Land development in Tuen Mun on 13 July 2022. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Novo Land development in Tuen Mun on 13 July 2022. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
The two projects, with 289 units between them, were the first weekend sales since the US Federal Reserve and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) called a recess this week on their interest rate hikes after 10 consecutive rounds of increases since March 2022.
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Hong Kong’s commercial banks responded by keeping their prime rates unchanged, but the pause failed to unleash the city’s buying power. Fed chairman Jerome Powell and HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man warned this week that the cycle of rising interest rates was far from over.

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