Hong Kong's first long Easter holiday since the relaxation of the epidemic prevention policy has seen a large number of people travelling abroad with their families. The Immigration Department announced that more than 550,000 people arrived on the last day of the holiday yesterday (10), with local residents accounting for more than 480,000 arrivals.

Centaline Property Asia Pacific Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Residential Division, Mr Chan Wing-kit, said that people travelling during the long holiday had affected property viewing activities, and overall first and second-hand transactions were relatively slow. To conclude the four-day long holiday, no new properties were launched and the first-hand market recorded about 65 transactions, which was said to be the lowest in about 10 years since the first-hand legislation came into effect in 2013.

With the end of the holiday, a large number of people are returning to Hong Kong and a number of new properties are ready for sale, which is expected to further boost the exuberant atmosphere of the property market. The first new property to be launched after Easter is likely to be University Hill at Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po, owned by SHKP, which will offer 607 units and is expected to be uploaded this week for sale within the month. The battle for new developments in Kai Tak is on, with 6,307 units (with pre-sale approval) in the area ready for sale, including the runway district of Tin Lung, a joint venture between six major developers, which will start sales deployment after the Easter break at the earliest.

In the first 10 days of April, the first-hand market has recorded about 430 transactions for the time being, and with the outbreak of a fierce competition for new properties, the month is expected to reach 2,500 transactions, a record high in 29 months.

During the Easter holidays, the most sold new property was Kau Kin's existing property in Tseung Kwan O, Hoi Yan Villa, which sold 9 units with saleable area ranging from 183 to 321 square feet at $3.654 million to $6.505 million at $19,369 to $21,196 per square foot, generating $43.711 million in cash. The highest price was for a 1-bedroom flat on 26/F, Block 1 with a saleable area of 321 sq ft at $20,265 per sq ft.

During this Easter period, Henderson Land sold about 22 units, realising over $120 million. Among them, ONE INNOVALE-Cabanna, Phase 3 of ONE INNOVALE in Fanling accounted for the largest number of units with 8 units sold "every day", followed by Baker Place - Ying Hui in Hung Hom with 7 units sold during the period, realising over $41 million. Leo Place, Tai Kok Tsui Two more units were sold yesterday, including a 405 sq ft unit on the 8th floor of Block 2, for $9,308,800 at $22,985 per square foot.

21 Borrett Road, 21 Borrett Road, Mid-Levels, a super luxury property on Hong Kong Island, was sold on the first day of the Easter holidays (7th), a unit 3 on 12th floor with a saleable area of 2,193 sq ft, for $153.8 million together with two car parking spaces at $70,132 per sq ft, the largest first-hand transaction during Easter.