A land sale in Hong Kong yesterday failed to meet market expectations, signifying a continuing cool-down in the region’s property market.
With a total area of 13,393 sq m, a site located on the city’s outskirts was sold for S$483 million (HK$3.12 billion) yesterday, lesser than the estimated range of between HK$3.2 billion and HK$3.96 billion in an analyst survey by Dow Jones Newswires.
Among the five government land sales held this year, yesterday’s transaction was the third to fall below market expectations.
“The number one general concern is about the performance of the global capital markets,” said Yu Kam-hung, Senior Managing Director at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) in Hong Kong.
“Property developers can be quite conservative and there are concerns about the market volatility,” Yu added.
The latest sale is part of the Hong Kong government’s measures to rein in property prices and boost land supply.
Known for its sky-high rents, Hong Kong’s property prices had risen over the past few years due to record low interest rates and an influx of wealthy buyers from mainland China.
According to the government’s land registry, home sales in Hong Kong decreased 63 percent to 5,439 in August, when compared to the same period last year.
The numbers, however, revealed an increase of 3.5 percent in July home sales.
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