Property transactions decline despite Hong Kong stamp duty reform

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Deals fall despite stamp duty reform | http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1515199/property-transactions-decline-despite-hong-kong-stamp-duty

On the first weekend after the government announced the relaxation of double stamp duty, the number of major property transactions fell, but the amount of buyer interest rose significantly, said Hong Kong property agents.

The 10 biggest estates of each of the four leading property agencies saw a total of 57 property transactions in the past weekend, slightly less than the 61 transactions of the preceding weekend.

The four leading agencies are Hong Kong Property Services (Agency), Ricacorp Properties, Midland Realty and Centaline Property.

"In recent days, the Hong Kong government announced a relaxation of double stamp duty, which had a positive effect on the market," Hong Kong Property senior executive director Jeffrey Ng Chong-yip said.

"The number of property viewers has risen 20 to 30 per cent generally throughout the estates [on a weekly basis].

"Although in the short term property supply has shrunk, causing the second-hand market to stagnate, the relaxation of double stamp duty will spur the interest of clients to sell their old property for new ones."

Hong Kong Property handled seven transactions in the 10 main estates at the weekend, against 11 in the previous weekend.

Early last year, the government introduced double stamp duty in an attempt to cool the property market. Under this double stamp duty, buyers of properties costing more than HK$2 million would incur stamp duty at rates that are at least double those that previously applied unless they were permanent residents buying their first homes.

Last week, the government announced the double stamp duty would be relaxed in certain cases, to make it easier for residents to upgrade their flats. Residents moving up the property ladder will no longer have to pay a double stamp duty if their old unit is sold within six months of signing a formal agreement to buy the new property.

"In the first weekend after the government suggested relaxation of double stamp duty, the second-hand market had a slight rebound," Midland director Sammy Po Siu-ming said.

Midland handled 17 transactions in the 10 biggest estates last weekend, a slight increase from 16 transactions in the previous weekend. Ricacorp saw a drop in transactions in the 10 biggest estates to 15 in the past weekend from 16 in the previous weekend.

"The second-hand market fell, mainly because the landlords' attitude to price has hardened, while residents were not willing to enter the market at any price, causing a stalemate between both sides over price," said Ricacorp president Liao Weiqiang.

Centaline handled 18 transactions in the 10 biggest estates last weekend, the same as the previous weekend.

Interior Decoration : Shum Wan Road Housing

家居設計 深灣道 | 香港島 私人住宅裝修家居設計 · 裝修完成時間: 2011

With a land area of only 1,076 km2 and a population of over six million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. In addition, the topography of Hong Kong is rugged. In view of limited flat land area in Hong Kong, intensive urbanization of the lower portions of hillslopes in many parts of the territory has been the only feasible approach to cope with the needs of continuing development. The development of roads and buildings often necessitates numerous hillside cuttings and embankments. The stability of these man-made slopes is of prime concern as the impact on the community can be tremendous in the event of slope failure. Failure of these cuts and embankments often simply causes traffic delays, however, more serious landslides may overwhelm inhabited downslope areas with debris avalanches, slumps and falling boulders.

Of the contributing factors associated with the occurrence of landslides, water pressure is frequently the major. In Hong Kong most landslides are rain-induced, rainfall is high but seasonal, averaging about 2000 mm during the summer months when Hong Kong is frequently threatened by troughs of low pressure and tropical cyclones. Disastrous landslides associated with heavy rainfall include the following; Sau Mau Ping Resettlement Estate 1972, Po Shan Road in 1972, Kwun Lung Lau in 1994, Fei Tsui Road 1995 and Shum Wan Road in 1995.

The Shum Wan Road Landslide in Aberdeen is the largest landslide to have occurred in Hong Kong since 1976. It involved two distinct slides that occurred almost simultaneously. A minor failure of the fill embankment occurred below a passing bay on Nam Long Shan Road which triggered a major landslide at a hillside between Shum Wan Road and Nam Long Shan Road. In this study various aspects of the landslide and subsequent slope rehabilitation works are presented.

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