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Property News Weekly Digest
2018/7/28
〈Asian Post, July 28, 2018〉About seven out of 10 respondents polled for Citibank's latest home ownership survey by the University of Hong Kong's Social Sciences Research Centre said they expected housing prices to rise over the next 12 months.

More than 500 residents were randomly polled by phone in June for the quarterly Hong Kong Residential Property Ownership Survey, released yesterday, which has been running since 2010.

A record 69 per cent of the respondents said they expected home prices to rise, marking a third consecutive quarter where increases were expected.

The number of respondents who felt it was a "bad and terrible" time to buy a home increased to 73 per cent in the second quarter, up 4 per cent from the first quarter, according to the survey.

Citibank said it did not ask the respondents to explain their answers and would not speculate on the reasons behind the results.

Industry insiders, however, said they expected increases in home prices to slow down.
Leo Cheung, the corporate development director of valuations and property management at Pruden Group, said: "There is uncertainty in the market about the effects of the US-China trade war. Buying sentiment is adversely affected.

"Homebuyers may have more choices, because developers will be less ambitious when it comes to asking prices, and sellers of used homes may offer more room for negotiation and settle for lower prices."

However, he said the number of transactions might remain flat. "[Property buyers] are less bullish and are adopting a wait-and-see approach."

〈The Standard, July 27, 2018〉Pansy Ho Chiu-king, the daughter and heiress of Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho, is believed to have bought the second-most expensive home in Asia, splashing HK$900 million on a mansionin one of Hong Kong's most exclusive addresses.

Smart Richest International, a holding company that lists two of the younger Ho's senior employees as directors, is the owner of House 3 at 28 Gough Hill Road on The Peak, according to Land Registry data released yesterday.

The directors of Smart Richest, Jeny Lau and Yuen Kin-kei, are both directors at Shun Tak Holdings, the ferry and helicopter service operator of which Pansy Ho is chairman and executive director. Both Lau and Yuen declined to comment when contacted by the South China Morning Post.

The mansion, measuring 5,579 sq ft, features a private pool and a garden that spans 7,489 sq ft, according to property records.

It is among a cluster of seven properties developed by Richard Li Tzar-kai, the younger son of the city's wealthiest man, Li Ka-shing. The younger Li sold the project in 2004, keeping House 1 as an investment.

"The supply of ultra-luxury houses in such prime locations is few and far between, so when buyers see what they like, they jump," said Michael So, a director of property website Qfang.com.

At HK$161,319 per square foot, House 3 would still stand out in the world's costliest residential market.

〈Asian Post, July 27, 2018〉Most young people in Hong Kong look at buying a property as a life goal, and about half consider their parents duty-bound to help them achieve that dream, according to a survey by insurer Sun Life.

Getting onto the city's property ladder was top of the wish list for 59 per cent of students surveyed by the local branch of the Canadian insurance giant. And 49 per cent of the respondents expected the "Bank of Mum and Dad" to give them a leg up.

However, some of them may have to really turn on the charm to win their parents over, as only 41 per cent of mothers and fathers surveyed said they had actually started saving money to help their children buy property.

The financial demands on parents do not end with home ownership. It turns out that they are expected to fund their offspring's global travel ambitions too, with more than half saying their parents should help them achieve this dream as well.

And it is never too early for their parents to start being generous, according to the respondents. More than half of them (55 per cent) said parents should start saving before their children were even born, so as to help them "win at the starting line". Only 46 per cent of parents agreed.

Sun Life Hong Kong surveyed 690 parents and 141 students in the city between April and May this year.

Parents and their children believed it would require at least HK$4 million to raise a child, the survey revealed.

The good news for young people relying on parental support to get on the housing ladder is that an earlier survey by AIA found that 70 per cent of parents planned to help them.

The findings of both surveys underline how the "Bank of Mum and Dad" has become a major source of funds for young first-time buyers in the world's most expensive property market.

〈Sing Post, July 26, 2018〉Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at the Legco question-and-answer session yesterday that if "tough measures" are no longer effective, other actions to address the housing shortage will be considered. Restrictions on non-local buyers "can be considered and reconsidered", meaning the government will look further into it. Under current circumstances, the government needs tougher measures to curb the property craze, because there are neither long nor short ways of increasing land. If no effective measures are taken, property prices will not cool down while citizens' grievance will grow. Restricting non-local buyers will certainly have an immediate effect.

The CE sounds more determined than before. When she met the media on July 1, she also talked about the measure, saying "Restrictions on non-local buyers may not be necessary at this moment. It depends on future developments." We can see that the government is becoming more determined.

The government is turning to this Plan B in view of the circumstances. Whether property prices will stop soaring depends on land supply. But the government has been helpless. Concrete policies will have to wait until the Task Force on Land Supply publishes its report at the end of the year. At present, it's "all talk". The government can only use means beyond the "tough measures" hoping to make the public feel that it is not at its wit's end. There are still ways to curb the property craze and thus reduce panic buying and irrationality in the market.

The government earlier implemented the vacancy tax and required developers to put 20 per cent of their new units on pre-sale. They are more effective. Some developers did quickly sell part of their leftover units. It can push first-hand sales, making hoarding more difficult.

〈The Standard, July 25, 2018〉Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) has set the average price for the first batch of flats at its Park Yoho Milano project in Yuen Long at HK$13,756 per square foot, putting the cheapest unit at about HK$4.3 million after discount.

The first batch of flats in the development comprises 108 units, from 254 sq ft to 927 sq ft, priced from HK$5.09 million to HK$16.61 million after discount of up to 16 percent. Prices range from HK$15,439 per sq ft to HK$20,409 per sq ft. After discounts, units can be purchased from HK$4.28 million to HK$13.95 million.

SHKP deputy managing director Victor Lui Ting said more discounts are on offer to Park Yoho Milano purchasers than to buyers of units at Grand Yoho, which was also developed by the group.

The price range for the first batch of flats provides some leeway for upward adjustments in flats to be offered in subsequent batches.

The group hopes to gross about HK$850 million from the sale of the first batch of flats, Lui said. Subscriptions to the first batch of flats will start tomorrow.

Sammy Po Siu-ming, chief executive of Midland Realty's residential division, said the attractive prices for the first batch of flats might substantially slow down sale and purchase transactions in the secondary market. He expects about 70 percent of flats in the first batch to be purchased by end users.