HK Property Bears in Retreat
...as Ricacorp revises its 2014 forecast from 15% down to 5% up.
THEY FAILED - they could not break the market.
... So NOW the Trinity may start working together to push it back up again.
I pity those sad landlords who fell for the Bear Story and sold their flats at prices below $10 Million and below "fair value"
I expect the Luxury sector will go one seeing some softness, because of the High transaction costs.
Here you go, Punter (and others)
Will you believe it when you hear from the SCMP,
what I have been telling clearly for many months?:
RECORDS BROKEN ON SMALL FLATS
Shortage in the secondary market drives up some prices to record levels while a growing number of luxury homes are sold at a loss
Prices of small flats in the second-hand market have rebounded recently, with some units even changing hands at record highs.
This contrasts with the growing number of luxury homes being sold at a loss, as that segment has been hit hardest by the property market cooling measures the government imposed 15 months ago.
The rebound has prompted Patrick Chow Moon-kit, head of research at Ricacorp Properties, to revise upwards his forecast for home prices this year, from a drop of as much as 15 per cent to an increase of 5 per cent.
Agents expect the sell-out on Saturday of the first batch of 591 flats at Cheung Kong's City Point in Tsuen Wan to encourage more home seekers to buy flats.
"A 355 square foot flat at Serenity Park in Tai Po sold for a record HK$3.55 million last week. It surpassed the previous peak of HK$3.4 million in early 2014," said Anthony Man, a district manager at Centaline Property Agency.
. . .
Agents said many owners of mass residential housing units were willing to cut their asking prices by only 1 per cent to 2 per cent since April, rather than 3 per cent to 5 per cent previously.
By contrast, Chow said: "The demand for luxury flats remains weak..."
. . .
Analysts believe the rebound is mainly because of the shortage of small flats available for sale in the secondary market. There are about 50 flats at Kingswood Villas available for sale, compared with 200 to 300 flats before the measures were imposed.
"Many flat owners are reluctant to sell their flats because of the special stamp duty. They have to pay a special stamp duty of up to 20 per cent if they resell quickly. They would have to sacrifice a significant amount from their profit to pay the tax if they sold their flats," said David Chan, a director at Ricacorp.
Eddie Hui Chi-man, a professor of real estate at Polytechnic University, said: "Many flat owners don't think property prices will drop sharply in the short run. They would rather keep the flat for leasing, which offers a yield of 3 per cent."
. . .
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I don't pretend to always get it right, but I think clearly (for myself) and do my homework. And there are some others here who do the same.