Private homes for sale in Hong Kong hit 14-year high in Q3

Market take-up, however, may not been as warm as it used to.

The number of new private homes approved for sale in Hong Kong hit a 14-year high at 6,979 flats in July-September as the supply to ease the city’s chronic housing crunch is starting to come online, reports South China Morning Post.

The Lands Department issued consent for developers to sell 12 uncompleted residential projects, four of which have already been launched for sale.

Also read: Over 3,300 flats to be made available in Q4

“Developers are selling more flats also because land supply was increased in the last few years by both the previous and current administrations. This includes the increase in land sales,” Wong Leung-sing, senior associate director at Centaline told SCMP.

Also read: Hong Kong home price war heats up as developers rush to unload stock

The supply influx may also be related to the earlier tightening of the consent scheme which ensures the prompt release of first-hand flats. Under the revised rules, developers are required to sell at least 20% of total number of units at each turn of sale, including those sold via tender.

However, the large number of flats comes at a challenging time for Hong Kong’s weakening property market as growing signs of correction from tumbling sales to lower asking prices have set the new normal for the world’s most expensive property market.