Scrap Hong Kong 'spicy' cooling measures, agents say | HK Weekend Property Market Recap

Traditionally, the Lunar New Year is a quiet time for the Hong Kong property market. This Year of the Dragon, though, began even quieter than usual. Over the four-day holiday, the city’s ten major housing estates recorded zero deals, marking the lowest sales rates in 15 years.

There’s also been a strong call from all sectors for the Financial Secretary to either reduce or scrap property cooling measures in the upcoming Budget announcement next Wednesday.

Amid market uncertainty, Hong Kong’s housing prices continue to fall. Property agency data indicates that, in January this year, the average price per square foot for second-hand private properties in Hong Kong fell to HK$12,227, which is nearly a 24% drop from their historical high in 2021. This decline even exceeds the 18 per cent fall during the 2008 financial crisis.

Additionally, the average price of second-hand apartments has dropped from a peak of HK$9.83 million to HK$7.46 million, and in fact, in just over two years, the market value of the city’s private properties has evaporated by more than HK$2.6 trillion, equating to an average loss of over HK$2.09 million for each private property owner.

It's no surprise that Willy Liu, CEO of Ricacorp Properties, and Shih Wing-ching, the perennially optimistic CEO of Centaline Property, have said that the future market outlook will depend on "the luck of the draw.” The recovery of the property market depends on the alignment of policies with market conditions, so homeowners are advised to buckle up.

On the eve of the Budget announcement, the market is in "wait and see" mode, showing no signs of recovery in second-hand market transactions.

Over the weekend, the market was dominated by low-priced and loss-making transactions. To illustrate this trend, we review deals from City One Shatin, Harbour Pinnacle (Tsim Sha Tsui), and Greenview Villa (Tsing Yi).

We conclude with an overview of new projects set to be launched in the first quarter of the year.

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