Hong Kong mortgages for existing property slide to fewest since 2001

HONG Kong’s property market last year posted the fewest number of transactions in 33 years, a reflection of the city’s severe property downturn.

The city recorded 58,023 property transactions, the lowest since 1991 when Centaline Property Agency began recording the data. Second-hand residential properties sold the fewest in 28 years.

Rising interest rates and a population outflow due to Beijing’s tightening control and Covid-controls during the pandemic have pummelled the city’s property market. Hong Kong’s property market is expected to remain subdued in 2024 amid bleak economic conditions and uncertain interest rate adjustments.

Mass residential prices are forecast to stay flat or fall as much as 5 per cent, according to Knight Frank.

As another reflection of challenges, the number of mortgages for Hong Kong real estate fell to the lowest in more than two decades. The financial hub recorded 73,906 mortgages for existing residential and commercial units last year, the fewest since 2001, according to a report by mReferral Mortgage Brokerage Services. The number for unfinished ones dropped to the lowest since 2005 at 1,581 cases.

“Hong Kong’s economy has not fully recovered, developers are finding it difficult to launch projects and the second-hand market is weak, thus affecting mortgage figures for both existing and uncompleted properties,” said Eric Tso, chief vice-president of mReferral Mortgage Brokerage Services. BLOOMBERG