Hong Kong's residential market will rebound in the next one to three years, and the US interest rate rises will have a limited impact on home prices, says the chairman of the Hang Lung Group (0010) and Hang Lung Properties (0101), Ronnie Chan Chi-chung.

Though the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates twice this year, Chan said the impact on Hong Kong's property market will not be significant as the interest rates are not the only factor and the existing reading is not very high.

He sees a good recovery in retail property but office buildings are still under pressure, though he believes this will improve gradually.

On business in mainland China, he said Hang Lung will invest in more projects if the prices are favorable. He added that confidence is the key to mainland real-estate recovery.

In the primary market, Aruna at Ap Lei Chau, developed by Chuang's China Investments (0298), received more than 50 checks for its first batch of 50 units.

In Tuen Mun, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) said Phase 2A of Novo Land had received more than 4,800 checks by yesterday for the second batch of 223 units, more than 20 times oversubscribed.

Meanwhile, the overall Grade-A office rent in 2022 fell to the 2013 level, down by 23.7 percent in the past three years, says a property agency. Of 33 tracked Grade-A offices, 24 projects plunged below the 2013 level last year.

But the super Grade-A offices reported a smaller decline in rent, as seven buildings saw a tiny dip compared with the 2013 level.