Hong Kong developers have joined a chorus urging the government to remove all the remaining cooling measures to revive the property sector.
Stewart Leung Chi-kin, who is the chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong as well as Wheelock, said on Wednesday that he had met Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently and proposed that all cooling measures be removed.
“The government has taken note of the market’s concerns,” Leung said, adding that Chan had not made any promises.
Speculation is rife that Chan could relax the remaining property market curbs during his budget speech on February 28. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, the city’s leader, rolled back some curbs in his policy address last year.
The Hong Kong stock market surged to a seven-week high on Wednesday, with property developers advancing on this speculation. Sun Hung Kai Properties advanced 3.7 per cent to HK$75.15, Henderson Land Development added 2.8 per cent to HK$21.90, while New World Development climbed 4.6 per cent to HK$9.79. The Hang Seng Property Index rose 3 per cent to a one-month high.
The current issue is not the withdrawal of the cooling measures, but the overall economy, Leung said. The fundamentals of the property market “were still good” despite last year’s high interest rate environment and stock market volatility, he added.
“With interest rates expected to be cut this year, various factors including the unemployment rate gradually improving, and the possibility that the government will remove the cooling measures, the property market will see an improvement in the second half of the year,” Leung said.
Wheelock has five projects in Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O, Kai Tak and Wong Chuk Hang totalling about 2,200 units in the pipeline, which it plans to launch for sale according to market conditions.
Blue Coast, a new residential project being developed as part of phase three of Southside in Wong Chuk Hang by CK Asset Holdings and MTR Corp, is likely to be launched in March, CK Asset said on Wednesday.
“But the actual sales timetable will also depend on the guidelines in the coming budget,” said Justin Chiu Kwok-hung, CK Asset’s executive director. The company “will sell properties at any time and will not hoard inventories”, he added.
The government will take appropriate measures to speed up the economic recovery and if the government removes the cooling measures, most Hong Kong people “will be happy”, Chiu said.
Blue Coast is being developed in two phases and will have 1,200 units. Chiu did not indicate if the project will be sold at low prices or even at a loss, but he said the current cost of the property is HK$28,000 (US$3,578) per square foot, and it might increase if interest rates rise further.
Last year, CK Asset, the property flagship of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, surprised the market by launching its cheapest new homes in seven years. The developer sold all 655 units at its Coast Line II project in Yau Tong. The project was ranked second among the top 20 new major developments sold in 2023, according to data from Dataelements, a data provider that tracks new residential properties in Hong Kong.