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HONG KONG: Hong Kong auctioned a residential parcel of land on Hong Kong Island's Mid-Levels for HK$4.49 billion (RM1.73 billion), a price that was in the middle of a range of market forecasts.
Analysts had expected the land to fetch between HK$3.09 billion and HK$5.365 billion. The site, located on Stubbs Road in the Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, covers 14,700 square metres with a gross floor area of 180,834 square feet.
"The result was positive and it reflected that developers still have confidence in the (local property) market," said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities.
"It also showed that developers are getting more aware of the underlying risk, in particular the interest rates prospect," Yip added.
The auction lasted only nine minutes, the second land auction in two weeks as the government aimed to boost land supply to cool the property market.
Sun Hung Kai Properties was the buyer of the site.
At the same auction, the government sold a Kowloon site for HK$579 million, the upper end of the forecast range of HK$363 million and HK$702 million. China Overseas Land was the buyer of the Kowloon site.
The government sold a New Territoroes site for HK$662 million, the middle range of forecasts. Cheung Kong was the buyer.
Analysts had estimated the government would fetch a total of HK$5.12 billion on sales of the three plots of land.
Two weeks ago, Hong Kong auctioned a plot of residential land in Kowloon at a price 20 percent higher than the average forecast, fuelling concern of a worsening bubble in the territory's sizzling property market.
Hong Kong's housing prices have risen nearly 10 percent so far this year, continuing to climb beyond 1997 peaks. But analysts predicted the pace could slow during the rest of the year in response to government cooling measures and as banks gradually lift mortgage interest rates.
Sales volumes in the secondary market had slowed in the past few months but home prices remained at high levels. — Reuters
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