Hong Kong’s Yoho West Sells Out

The residential project is jointly being developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties and the MTR Corp in Tin Shui Wai, New Territories

Hong Kong’s biggest developer Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) enjoyed another round of robust weekend sales, as big discounts and a positive interest rate outlook prompted local buyers to snap up units in its latest housing project.

A total of 241 flats at Yoho West – a residential project jointly developed by SHKP and the MTR Corp in Tin Shui Wai, New Territories – were sold on Saturday, according to agents. With about 86% of the 280 units on offer sold this round, the project in line with property agents’ estimate of 80 to 90%. “It’s pretty good sales, just like we expected,” said Sammy Po Siu-ming, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential division for Hong Kong and Macau. “It shows the market still has a lot of purchasing power.”

Located atop the Tin Wing MTR stop, Yoho West is the first of SHKP’s two phases, containing 1,393 out of a total of 1,976 units. The discounted selling price ranges from HK$2.99 million (US$383,000) to HK$10.9 million, or HK$10,000 to HK$16,701 per square foot, some of the lowest prices in six years. The cheapest flats at Yoho West are priced at about a 20% discount compared with the first batch of the third phase of SHKP’s Wetland Seasons Bay project, also in Tin Shui Wai, according to Po.

“The attractive price is one of the most important reasons why the project is so popular,” he said. Around 80% of the buyers are homebuyers, reflecting that the city still has robust housing demand. The other 20% consists of investors, as rental prices are estimated to be HK$38 per square foot, a yield of four per cent, according to Po.

The recent decision by the US Federal Reserve to keep key rates unchanged, with a continued dovish outlook, has helped shore up sentiment among buyers, according to Louis Chan Wing-kit, CEO of the residential division at Centaline Property Agency. “The number of new home transactions in December will increase to around 1,000 after today and is on track to reach a 1,300, the highest in nine months,” Chan said.

The city’s property prices could stabilise and rebound as interest rates peak, with a potential up-tick of about 5 per cent going into 2024, Midland’s Po said. Around 13% of Hongkongers think this is the ideal time to buy a home, the second-highest level of optimism on record, a survey showed earlier this month.