Buyers Battle Out for Flats Under HK$5M

The Met.Azure has a "sea view", and 25 minutes from MTR

 

It's quite incredible that despite the coronavirus pandemic that caused lots of people to lose jobs or businesses went belly up that the Hong Kong real estate market continues to be red hot.

The project features nano flats less than 300 sq ft

This weekend developer Wang On sold out all 143 flats at its The Met.Azure project in Tsing Yi, with 13 buyers for every available flat that is not that convenient -- a 25-minute walk to the Tsing Yi MTR station. The project, which will be scheduled to be completed by December 2022, has micro flats ranging from 181 sq ft to 257 sq ft, with prices from HK$3.89 million to HK$4.61 million respectively, an average of HK$20,638 per square foot. 

The flats are aimed at first-time buyers, who can get up to 90 percent mortgage financing.

"There is strong demand for this type of flats, which allow [first-time buyers] the chance to enter the market with budgets of less than HK$5 million," said Midland Realty's residential division chief executive Sammy Po. "There's even full sea view" from the flats, he said. 

How does one squeeze into a flat less than 300 square feet? The bed is hoisted up like a bunk bed to give the impression of more space. Creative, but definitely aimed at buyers in their 20s and 30s.

Bedrooms are bunk beds, above living space

Nevertheless, analysts believe that with the pandemic under control in the city, and unemployment rates going down, people feel more confident in investing in a home -- despite almost 90,000 people left in the past year.

Maybe they are taking advantage of people leaving, as some 10,000 homes were sold this year, up 20 percent this year.

The Housing Affordability Index climbed to 75 percent in the second quarter, way above the 20-year average of 47 percent. This means home prices are still losing touch with economic fundamentals and residents' affordability. 

It's also quite amazing young people are prepared to spend the next 20, 30 years paying off for these nano flats in a bid to get up the housing ladder... in less than 10 years will the average price be HK$30,000 per square foot?