Residential sales are anticipated to fall sharply in the short run, as new projects slated for sales will likely be postponed when the third wave of COVID-19 continues to hit the city. Land registry data shows that average monthly transactions in the primary sales market amounted to 1,383 in the second quarter, higher than the average monthly transactions of 754 deals recorded in the first quarter, when the city was hit by the first wave of COVID-19.
Hong Kong’s residential market outperformed all other property sectors in the first half of the year and in early July, despite the economic uncertainties resulting from the outbreak. Relatively aggressive pricing in the primary sales market partly supported the resilient overall price trend. For example, the first batch of units at KOKO HILLS (Phase 1) in Cha Kwo Ling, developed by Wheelock Properties, was priced at an average of HKD 20,000 per sq. ft after discount. This equated to 15% more than the pricing of Grand Central, a project in Kwun Tong that launched in December 2018.