SHKP launches 350 Sierra Sea flats as Hong Kong property rebound gathers pace

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Hong Kong’s largest developer by market capitalisation, puts another 350 units on sale in its Sierra Sea project after four rounds of sold-out flats in January, reflecting returning buyer appetite in the world’s most expensive property market. The batch at phase 2B included 244 two-bedroom and 106 three-bedroom units, with discounted prices ranging from HK$4.6 million (US$590,000) to HK$9.74 million, according to sales documents released on Wednesday. The average discounted price comes to HK$12,469 per square foot. The offering follows four consecutive sell-outs in January. Phase 2A of the Sai Sha development sold 213 flats on January 10, 229 units on January 17, and 218 homes on January 21. Phase 2B sales opened on January 28 with all 165 price-list units snapped up in about four hours. More than a fifth of the 9,700 units available have already been sold. Sierra Sea, located at Shap Sze Heung, between Sai Kung and Ma On Shan, is Hong Kong’s largest housing project since 1999. The development featured three themed clubhouses offering 168 amenities, including water play areas, indoor and outdoor sports, cycling trails and themed cabins, according to Centaline Property. The strong sales reflect a property market regaining momentum after multi-year downturns. Lived-in home prices rose 3.25 per cent in 2025, while rents climbed to a record high in December, according to Rating and Valuation Department data. Morgan Stanley has upgraded the city’s property sector to “attractive”, forecasting home prices to rise about 10 per cent in 2026, with the rebound heralding the start of a new upcycle. Citi raised its forecast to 8 per cent this year, citing a faster-than-expected rebound and noting that home sales were likely to exceed new completions for the first time. Some of Hong Kong’s property giants have reported stable profits amid the recovery. SHKP reported underlying profit of HK$21.86 billion for the financial year ended June 2025, up 0.5 per cent, according to an exchange filing. Hang Lung Properties, which announced its 2025 annual results on Friday, posted underlying net profit of HK$3.2 billion, up 3 per cent from a year earlier. “[It] was a year of turnaround and progress for Hang Lung, returning to growth in the second half, while navigating the challenging economic backdrop,” said Adriel Chan, chair of Hang Lung Group and Hang Lung Properties, in a statement. Alvin Leung, senior director of valuation and advisory services at Colliers, said Hong Kong’s residential market had improved since last year because of interest rate cuts, gains in the local stock market that lifted the wealth effect, and increased demand from talent scheme arrivals and non-local students. Hong Kong remained the world’s most expensive city to buy a home, even after a 20 per cent decline in prices over the past five years, according to the Deutsche Bank Research Institute’s Mapping the World’s Prices report in June last year.