Developers increase preferential sales to avoid vacancy tax, and ready stock house number has fallen 4 months.
(By Liang Yueqin)
Government’s first hand property vacant tax legislation is coming soon. Developers take the positive market trend in recent months to actively promote stock houses with increasing privileges. The stock house sales were up to 3,090 units in the first quarter of this year, the new high in the past 10 quarters, and the monthly accumulated stock also fell from a high to 11,677 units, a new low in five months, and ready stock house among even has fallen four months to about 4,542 units. Although the ready stock house number has fallen back, but it will rise after many new projects being occupied this year. It is expected that developers will speed up the sale of ready stock houses.
In recent months, some developers have increased their discounts to speed up the sales of ready houses, such as adding long-term transactions and paying first, low down payment also larger discounts, free decoration or giving home appliances etc. At the beginning of this year, Chinachem added the first 20-month interest-free mortgage payment plan to Jade Cove in Tuen Mun, which has a monthly supply of only 0.5% of the property price, accounting for 10% of the property price, and provided first mortgage in 80% for buyers.
Wheelock extends property privilege for 6 ready stock properties.
The group would mainly put on sale the remaining about 200 stock houses before the sales of LOHAS Park 7a is approved, Wheelock Properties executive director, Huang Guangyao expressed. In order to speed up the clearance, Wheelock last month extended the discount or long-term transaction concession of its 6 ready stock properties to May 31 from March 31. Among them, the discounts in O CAPRI in Tseung Kwan O, ISLAND RESIDENCE in Shau Kei Wan, NAPA in Tuen Mun, MONTEREY in Tseung Kwan O and OASIS KAI TAK in Kai-tak rang from 1% to 2%; While ONE HOMANTIN in Ho Man Tin extended the long-term transaction concession of property strategy 1088 upgrade. In addition, the developer also offers designated decoration discounts for designated bungalows from the NAPA in Tuen Mun .
Cheung Kong offered a total privileged valued HKD 260,000 for the occupied four-bedroom and double-suite houses of Seanorama in Ma On Shan, including the additional price discount of HKD 180,000 and home appliance coupons etc. Buyer of four-bedroom and one-suite house will earn total privilege of HKD 160,000.
New World has also launched a 360-day or 720-day long-term payment method for the already-occupied Fleur Pavilia in North Point, and buyers who choose these two payment methods can also apply for the first stay.
Brand new houses in the first quarter are only 4,081 units.
In fact, the new property sales in the first quarter of this year was ideal, and there was even situation that the sales is higher than the launch number. The new property sales have been slow since this year, with new properties being launched in the first quarter only were 4,081 units, down about 45% quarter-to-quarter, the lowest in the past three quarters, while small and medium size houses account for nearly 60%, the chief executive officer of residential department of Midland, Bu Shaoming pointed.
On the contrary, 5,532 new houses were sold in the first quarter, involving a total of HKD 58.2 billion, which rose about 70% and about 20% respectively by quarter while rose about 44% and nearly 8% respectively year-on-year, creating a new high in nearly ten quarters after the third quarter in 2016 when it was 7,201 houses. The stock property sales among reached 3,090 units, the highest in the past 10 quarters, and the monthly cumulative stock also dropped from the high to 11,677 units, a new low in five months.
It is reflect that developers are actively promoting new stock property sales under strong market demand, especially the ready stock houses affected by vacant taxes.
Qfang: The ready stock houses are 4,542 units.
The latest total number of ready stock houses has fallen for 4 months, from 4,969 units in December last year, to the latest 4,542 units, with a cumulative decline of 8.6%, and the unsold ratio fell from 8% at the time of the first-hand vacancy tax was released in June last year to the latest only 7.1%, base on the overall on sale ready new houses, according to the statistics from Qfang Hong Kong data research center.
The Managing Director of Qfang Hong Kong, Chen Kunxing expressed, in response to the vacancy tax set by the Government, the "additional land rates" involved are twice the annual rental value, so generally speaking, it is equivalent to 5% of the property price, which is also appreciable, thus it is believed that developers will speed up ready house sales in future
, plus a number of large new projects will debut this quarter, leading the property launched in this quarter will rebound nearly doubled to more than 8,000 units, and driving this year's first hand property sales to a new high.
