(By Liang Yueqin)
Abandoned transactions repeatedly appear due to the continued COVID-19 epidemic. UPPER EAST in Hung Hom, which was launched by Kowloon Development in 2015, recorded one large-amount abandoned transaction. The buyer chose the "Happy Express" payment method when purchasing that very year. It is estimated that the buyer's deposit of about HKD540,000, which is calculated in 10% of the property price, would be confiscated by the developer.
According to the transaction register data, room M on the 18th floor of block 1C in UPPER EAST, Hung Hom, which is a one-bedroom unit in 312 sq ft, should have been sold for HKD5.381 million with the sq ft price at HKD17,247 in September 2015. However, the buyer, who chose the "Happy Express" payment method when purchasing that very year, suddenly abandoned the transaction this Monday. It is estimated that the buyer's deposit of about HKD540,000, which is calculated in 10% of the property price, would be confiscated by the developer.
The buyer chose the "Breathing Plan" during the first housing.
The data shows that there were many high-percentage mortgage plans commonly known as "Breathing Plan" (that is, buyers don't need to submit proof of income) in the market when the developer was putting on sale this project that very year. In "Happy Express" payment method, buyers need to pay a deposit that is 5% of the property price, and monthly pay 0.35% of the property price as the repayment of the down payment from the third month after that until the date of occupation, with interest-free during the period. The buyer can borrow the remaining 85% of the property price from Kowloon Development's finance company by first or second mortgage when occupation and the income certificate is exempt. It is reported that the interest rate for the "Happy Express" payment method was P-0.5% in the first year, which is an actual interest rate of 4.875%. And it would increase by 26.3% to P + 0.75%, which is a real interest rate of 6.125% the next year. The maximum repayment period was 30 years, and there would be no penalty interest period.
A buyer in ATRIUM HOUSE gave up after one week.
On the other side, New World's ATRIUM HOUSE in Yuen Long recorded one more abandoned transaction. The transaction record book shows that Room B6 on the 16th floor in an area of 325 square feet was purchased by the buyer for HKD5.559 million last week, with the sq ft price at about HKD17,200. But the buyer did not sign the formal sale and purchase agreement on time, losing deposit at 5% of the property price, that is, about HKD279,750.
Beside, Hanison Construction's WEST PARK in Cheung Sha Wan yesterday confirmed to launch a new batch of 5 units on Saturday. Chau Ka Fung, the Director of the Project Management Company, points out that the prices in the additionally launched price list of the project last week are original. He also said buyers of the additionally launched units except for room B on the 25th floor could apply for first housing mortgage insurance, besides there is no plan to increase the prices. Regarding the expectation of the budget announced today, he hopes the government could reduce the strict measures to help buyers speed up houses exchanging.
The first-hand property sales fell by 40% this year.
However, the trading volume of the first-hand property market has dramatically decreased since the beginning of this year affected by the epidemic, resulting in a significant gap from the sales in the same period last year. Midland Real Estate Data and Research Center synthesizes data in "First-hand Residential Property Sales Information Network." They found that over 1,440 first-hand property units (Excluding village house properties and some individual cases) had been sold as of February 24, and the number had sharply decreased by above 40% compared with more than 2,440 units in the same period last year.
