As to whether Man King Heen will adjust its sales strategy due to the increase in Buyer's Stamp Duty, Executive Director of developer Sam Luen Group, Kwok Sun Ming, said in an interview that the increase in Buyer's Stamp Duty is mainly targeted at high-end private residential properties with higher selling prices, while over 90% of Man King Heen's units, except for some five-bedroom units, are priced below $3 million, so the impact should not be significant.
The Botany at Dairy Farm, the first private residential development after the increase in Buyer's Stamp Duty, was opened for previews on Saturday (February 18). The developer said it has no plans to adjust prices and will continue to sell as planned, although future developments will be optimised to reduce the impact of the increase on buyers.
From Wednesday (15 February), the buyer's stamp duty will be increased from 4% to 5% for residential properties priced above $1.5 million to $3 million, and from 4% to 6% for properties over $3 million.
As to whether Man King Heen will adjust its sales strategy due to the increase in buyer's stamp duty, Sim Lian Group executive director Kwok Sun Ming said in an interview with the Union-Tribune on Friday (Feb 17) that the increase in buyer's stamp duty was mainly targeted at high-end private residential properties with higher selling prices, while Man King Heen should not be affected as more than 90% of its units are priced below $3 million, with the exception of some five-bedroom units. This is why the Group has no plans to adjust prices.
Mr Kwok pointed out that buying a home is a long-term investment, and buyers with immediate needs will not change their home purchase plans due to the increase in stamp duty. In addition, rising land prices and construction costs have made it difficult for developers to reduce prices.
Man King Hin is located in the Buttermilk Farm area and is under a 99-year land lease, with the official opening scheduled for March 4.
The project consists of five buildings with a total of 386 residential units. Prices for the one-bedroom plus study and two-bedroom units start from $998,000 and $1.2 million respectively. Three-bedroom and four-bedroom units start from $1,730,000 and $2,390,000 respectively. Five-bedroom units start at $2.88 million, which means all buyers of three-bedroom and above units will have to pay more buyer's stamp duty.
Mr Kwok said the exact reaction of buyers to the increase in buyer's stamp duty would depend on the number of people visiting showrooms this weekend. He expects that apart from the one-bedroom plus study and two-bedroom units, the three-bedroom units will also be popular with family buyers in this area.
He noted that while the sales plan for Man King Heen remains unchanged, the Group will take the BSD increase into account in the design of the units in its other projects in the future, so as to minimise the impact of the BSD increase on buyers by optimising the size of the units without compromising the comfort of the living environment.
