(By Huang Jiaming)
More than ten thousands of new houses rush into the market in the end of the year. Developers are all actively on promoting to grab more buyers for the annual target, making second hand property market and Home Ownership dull.
Only 30% of the approved applicants decide to buy.
After four months since the first 2,500 white form applicants approved for buying Home Ownership secondary property, only about 760 people which are 30% of total gained the nomination letter, while nearly 430 buyers among still planned to rapidly purchase within the first month after launching, which reflects the trend of white form applicant buying secondary Home Ownership slow down and its transaction quantity declined recently. Most owners are not on hurry while buyers look bad to market, leading Home Ownership market into stalemate.
In recent time, Hong Kong property market seems up under the price cut of first hand projects, but the purchasing power which rose by white form applicants purchasing second hand Home Ownership in free premium was cooled. According to latest data from Housing Department, only about 60 white form applicants purchased houses through the scheme in the past one month, which further worse than 430 buyers got into the market immediately in the first month of the scheme. At the same time, Housing Department pointed 15% of the winners did not apply for purchasing approval, showing some approved applicants gave up to buy house through the scheme.
Citizens are wait and see.
Cai Yamian, a member of Hong Kong Housing Authority admitted, only 30% of the approved applicants bought house through the scheme after it was launched for four months, which is slow. He pointed buyers who had housing demand with plenty funds immediately finishing the transaction in primary term pushed the price of secondary Home Ownership market, but new projects supplying privilege after September changed citizens' mind to wait and see, leading secondary Home Ownership property price fell back.
What's more, the second batch of 2,500 white form applicants of this scheme will get into the market in the end of this year. But who will give up first? The owner or the buyer? We may find some clues from recent Home Ownership property transactions.
Premium is high.
Some analysis pointed, most Home Ownership are willing not to sell with price cut. Xian Riming, the Professor of Marketing Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), pointed current price cut of first hand property affects the second hand private market and extends to Home Ownership market; We need to notice that, the buyers of the scheme only get the right of habitation not ownership, if need to pay 50% of the premium, then it means the buyers will share the property with government with half and half.
In fact, current Home Ownership property premium is high, and some purchasers realized the Home Ownership unit is never cheap, while owners will not easily cut price, so it is estimated the second batch applicants getting into the market will not warm up the market, unless owners cut the price for buyers. Li Zhenjie from JIATIANXIA expressed, the original owner of room E in middle floor of Charming Garden in Tai Kok Tsui asked for about HKD 3.8 million, but hadn't sold it after the hot Home Ownership market term even the price was accumulative cut by HKD 0.5 million.
