Hong Kong’s buyers turn up in droves to snap up discounted new homes as prospect of rate cuts trumps protests and trade war

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Sun Hung Kai Properties and New World Development together sold nearly 88 per cent of the 258 new flats on offer in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long as of 5pm

The robust sales reversed nearly three weeks of drubbing in the local property industry, and could give developers the confidence to launch more homes for sale

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Potential buyers viewing a model of New World Development's Atrium House project on 22 June 2019. Photo: SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Zheng Yangpengin Beijing

Published: 7:00pm, 22 Jun 2019Updated: 12:04pm, 23 Jun 2019

Hong Kong’s property buyers turned up in droves to snap up new flats on sale at two districts across the city, taking solace from dovish interest rate stances by US and local monetary authorities.

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHK), the city’s largest developer by value, sold 116 units of the 130 flats offered for sale at the second phase of the Mount Regency complex in Tuen Mun, according to agents. Nearby in Yuen Long, New World Development sold 111 of the 128 flats on offer at Atrium House.

Both projects, located to the west of Hong Kong’s New Territories, attracted 10 bids from buyers for each available unit, mostly from young, first-time buyers who were keen to get their hands on flats that cost less than HK$6 million (US$768,000), agents said.

“Small flats for low lump sum prices remain popular in Hong Kong, which is why the two projects reported upbeat sales results,” said Sammy Po, chief executive at Midland Realty's residential department. “Sentiment is turning for the better, and July’s sales number of new flats could climb above 2,000 again, as developers ride the momentum to launch more projects for sale.”

Property buyers were cheered by the signal from the US Federal Reserve that it was reversing course on the rising interest rate cycle that began in December 2015 with nine consecutive rate increases. The easier policy stance would have to be matched in lockstep by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to maintain the local currency’s peg to the US dollar, which would translate into cheaper mortgages for borrowers.

Saturday’s robust sales reversed nearly three weeks of drubbing in Hong Kong’s real estate industry, which was weighed down by the year-long US-China trade war and the biggest street protests in the city’s history over a proposed extradition law.