Hong Kong’s home sales remained above the 5,000 level for the sixth consecutive month in August, further strengthening the view that the city’s residential property market may have bottomed out.
A total of 5,291 homes were transacted last month, according to data from the Land Registry on Tuesday, continuing a run above 5,000 that started in March. While the volume fell 8.2 per cent compared with 5,766 in July, it was nearly 45 per cent higher than a year ago.
In the first eight months of the year, sales of new and lived-in homes rose 10 per cent from a year earlier to 42,379 – the most for that period in four years, according to data compiled by Midland Realty.
“This year the property market has benefited from multiple favourable factors that have collectively improved market sentiment and driven transactions,” said Benny Sham, an analyst at Midland Realty.
Rising rents were encouraging a shift to buying, he said, adding that the Hong Kong stock market’s strong performance and reduced stamp duties for properties up to HK$4 million (US$512,500) were among the factors propelling home sales.
Sham said that although the recent surge in Hibor-linked mortgage rates had put pressure on borrowers and the property market, analysts expect the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this month. “This could result in Hong Kong banks following suit by lowering their rates,” he said.
