12 January 2015 - According to on.cc, new home rentals are set to peak in Q1 2015, with approximately 7,774 properties in 8 new projects due to be released. These account for almost half of the total completed units last year.

 

The majority of these units are located in the New Territories, with an estimate of 5,400 homes in new projects that include ‘Park Signature’ and ‘The Woodside’ in Yuen Long, ‘Double Cove Star View’ in Ma On Shan, ‘City Point’ in Tsuen Wan, ‘Lohas Park Phase 3’ in Tseung Kwan O, and ‘Mont Vert’ in Tai Po. In terms of a single project, ‘City Point’ offers the largest proportion of available units with a total of 1,717 at an average rental price of HKD39 per square foot (net).

 

In Kowloon, newly completed development ‘The Austin’ on top of Austin MTR Station, is expected to provide 576 units for rent.

 

Hong Kong Island continues to feature a limited supply of new properties, with only 179 apartments expected to be made available within a single development, ‘The Avenue - Phase 1' in Wan Chai. According to the website of OKAY.com, the average lease price for a two bedroom apartment in this project is HKD65 per square foot (net), which is notably higher than similar developments in the district such as ‘The Zenith’ which boasts an average rental of HKD51 per square foot (net).

 

Analysts commented that a huge increase of first hand properties for lease will suppress the upsurge of rental prices in the second hand market, especially for larger units.