Hong Kong’s homebuyers set aside high-rate concerns as they snap up Wheelock’s Park Seasons flats after discounts

Hong Kong’s homebuyers turned out for the latest weekend launch of new residential property, as the developer’s discounts assuaged concerns that interest rates could remain high for a longer period.

Wheelock Properties sold 126 flats, or three-quarters of the 168 units on offer at its Park Seasons project at the Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O, according to the developer.

The sale comprised one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats measuring between 322 and 496 square feet (46 square meters), priced at between HK$4.54 million and up to HK$7.70 million (US$983,200), or HK$14,632 per square foot on average after discounts.

About 4,000 people had put down deposits to bid for the flats, or about 24 buyers for every available unit. The buoyant response underscored how Hong Kong’s property buyers had adapted to the high interest-rate environment, said Louis Chan Wing-kit, CEO of the residential division at Centaline Property Agency.

“Even if the US Federal Reserve does not cut interest rates, as long as developers maintain attractive prices, transactions should remain strong in May and June,” he said.

Hong Kong’s de facto central bank has been conducting its monetary policy in lockstep with the Fed to preserve the city’s currency peg to the US dollar, in place since 1983. The peg means that Hong Kong must keep rates high if the Fed maintains a high cost of funding.