Natallie Cai  Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Cheung Kong (Holdings) (0001) is unlikely to reduce the prices of units at La Splendeur - a project in Tseung Kwan O - even as a plot in the area was sold below its lowest estimate at the land auction yesterday.
"The proposed project in the Tseung Kwan O site auctioned today is not comparable to La Splendeur in terms of flat size and facilities," said Cheung Kong Real Estate director Francis Wong See-chung.

In the first batch, the developer will launch four-room flats of about 1,300 square feet at La Splendeur for HK$9.5 to HK$12 million, or HK$7,300 to HK$9,230 psf.

The flats at Lohas Park will come on the market by the end of this week. Comparable flats in the area are currently priced at HK$6,300 to HK$6,400 psf.

"Although buyers might stay cautious in the short term, Cheung Kong is unlikely to slash prices in La Splendeur," said Ringo Lam Chun-chiu, a director of AG Wilkinson & Associates.

At yesterday's auction, site 66A, near the Tseung Kwan O MTR station, was sold to Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) for HK$3.12 billion - below the lowest market estimate of HK$3.2 billion.

Midland Surveyors director Alvin Lam Tsz-pun expects SHKP to mainly build two-bedroom units at site 66A, which cannot compete with La Splendeur, as the latter is offering three and four-room units.

Cheung Kong will provide mortgages of up to 80 percent of the home purchase prices.

Wong said 90 percent of units will be priced below HK$10 million, avoiding conventional mortgage restrictions. Earlier this year, mortgages were capped at 50 percent for homes priced over HK$10 million.