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Cheryl Arcibal

David Ren

Hongkongers snapped up almost every flat in the second phase of Sino Land’s Villa Garda project in the Lohas Park district of Tseung Kwan O in the New Territories, shrugging off the city’s rising mortgage rates.
The developer sold 225 flats, or 95 per cent of the 238 units on offer at Villa Garda I as of 7pm, for close to HK$2 billion (US$255 million) in sales proceeds, according to Sino Land’s executive director Victor Tin.
“Including the sales launch on June 30, Villa Garda I sold 463 units, about 97 per cent of the total launched units,” Tin said, adding that the developer has raked in HK$4 billion in total sales from the project.
The current batch of flats were priced between HK$17,106 and HK$21,346 (US$2,180 and US$2,720) per square foot after an average discount of 16 per cent, cheaper than the HK$23,000 per sq ft price in the neighbourhood.
The cheaper entry price made the project popular among young, first-home buyers, said Sammy Po Siu-ming, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential division for Hong Kong and Macau.

“The developer is selling at close to the market price, or even lower than the prevailing price,” Po said. “It is very [popular] among young first-time buyers. Everyone thinks Lohas Park is a district with great potential.”
Flats at Villa Garda are priced between HK$6.43 million and up to HK$13.7 million for the most expensive unit measuring 721 square feet. A 335-square foot unit sold for HK$7.42 million, or HK$22,151 per sq ft, making it the most expensive unit by square footage, Tin said.
Buyers of Villa Garda I were mostly young families and residents of the neighbouring district Tseung Kwan O, who wanted bigger homes for their own use, Tin said.
Hong Kong’s home prices softened in the first half, as a resurgent Covid-19 outbreak forced developers to postpone all property launches for three months, writing off the first quarter.
Prices fell in every major district on Hong Kong Island, the New Territories and Kowloon during the second quarter, dropping between 0.4 per cent and up to 10.9 per cent in housing estates.
“Property prices are expected to continue [softening] in the third quarter, as the United States continues to raise interest rates,” said Wong Leung-sing, senior associate director at research department of Centaline Property.

Hong Kong’s banks have kept their prime rates unchanged, even after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) raised the city’s base rates by a whopping 75 basis points on June 16, in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve.
Still, mortgages tied to the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (Hibor) have risen, as the cost of money has increased to surpass a two-year high of 2.1 per cent, a trend that would dampen appetite for property purchase in the city.
Some of that had already been evident, when two projects launched in the first week of July received the collective cold shoulder from buyers.
Billion Development and Project Management failed to find a single buyer when it released 283 unsold flats in its The Horizon and Centra Horizon projects in Pak Shek Kok, not even with discounts of up to 6 per cent.
On Sunday, only a fraction of the 72 units at the Grand Jeté project in Tuen Mun by CK Asset Holdings and Sun Hung Kai Properties was sold, even with prices that were 10 per cent cheaper than the other new projects nearby.
Additional reporting by Lam Ka-sing


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Customers queued up for Villa Garda I flats in Lohas Park at Sino Land’s sales office in Tsim Sha Tsui on 7 July 2022. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

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Eager home-seekers snapped up 225 of the 238 flats on offer at Sino Land’s first project in Tseung Kwan O’s Lohas Park
Hong Kong’s overall housing market will continue to soften in the third quarter, says property agent Centaline


The current batch of flats were priced between HK$17,106 and HK$21,346 per square foot after an average discount of 16 per cent, cheaper than other prices in the neighbourhood.
