Centaline Property's Chief Executive Officer of the Residential Division, Mr. Chan Wing Kit, said that the US Federal Reserve and Hong Kong banks have raised interest rates again and property prices have not stopped falling, affecting buyers' cautious attitude towards entering the market.
Near the end of the year, it is expected that the property market will gradually become lighter and property prices are expected to repeatedly bottom out.
On Hong Kong Island, Centaline Property's Chief Divisional Manager of Kornhill Hong On Street Branch, Mr. Yeung Man Kit, said that Kornhill Garden recorded one transaction this weekend, breaking three consecutive weekends of zero transactions.
The latest transaction was recorded in the middle floor of Block H, room 16, with a saleable area of 685 square feet and a gross floor area of 858 square feet, with a three-bedroom en-suite partition.
The original owner bought the unit in May 2012 for $7.6 million and has held it for 10 years, making a profit of $1.9 million and a 25% appreciation in the value of the unit.
Some buyers are worried that the increase in transactions after customs clearance will push up the price of the flats, so they are speeding up the pace of purchase.
Five transactions were recorded in Kornhill this month, four of them in the last week, with an average price of $14,326 per square foot.
Centaline Property's Principal Divisional Sales Manager of South Horizons West Wing Branch 2, said that one transaction was recorded at the end of the week at South Horizons, a loss-making transaction.
Centaline contributed to the sale of a low-rise D flat in Block 25 of the estate, with a saleable area of 519 square feet and a gross floor area of 654 square feet, with two rooms separated by a garden view.
The original owner bought the flat in January 2019 for $7.75 million and has held it for over 3 years, with a book loss of $670,000 or 8.6%, but with rental income during the period, the actual loss is expected to be less.
In Kowloon, Centaline Property's Senior Divisional Sales Director of Tseung Kwan O Metro Station Branch, Mr. Ko Yung, said that Metro City recorded one transaction this weekend, a flat performance week-on-week, and the overall pace of transactions was slow.
The weekend's transaction was a 3-bedroom suite with a saleable area of 538 square feet and a gross floor area of 750 square feet in Block 7 of Phase 2, with the owner selling the unit for $7.5 million, equivalent to a saleable price of $13,941 per square foot.
As for the New Territories, there were no transactions at City One Shatin, Kingswood Villas and Caribbean Coast this weekend.
According to Lai Chung-man, regional sales director of Centaline Property's City One Shatin branch, City One Shatin has recorded about 10 transactions so far this month. The successive interest rate hikes by the US and local banks have affected buyers' mindset to enter the market, and the fact that the price of the proposed units has been absorbed has narrowed the bargaining power of the owners, resulting in a slowdown in transactions.
