Hong Kong Residential Property Prices Continue to Slide Mid-2016

Downward pressure on second-hand homes to increase in coming 2 months

According to global real estate consultant JLL, mass residential property prices in May 2016 have dropped 8.3% on the year in Hong Kong.

JLL’s Mass Index, which monitors the capital value movement of a basket of mass residential properties in Hong Kong saw secondary home prices stabilizing in May 2016 as more buyers returned to the market looking for bargains.

Home sales in April grew 2% m-o-m to 4,586, though still remaining below the historical long-term monthly average of 7,656. The total consideration of home sales increased 18.6% m-o-m to HKD 40.9 billion.

New project launches over the next few months will likely remain in the limelight as developers continue to offer eye-popping financing packages. New projects on the pipeline for launch include Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Shau Kei Wan project, Manhattan’s Homantin project, the Paliburg and Regal Hotels project in Sham Shui Po, China Overseas’ One Kai Tak and HKR International’s project in Tuen Mun.

Henry Mok

In the luxury residential market, investor interest in properties with hefty price tags saw no signs of abating. A unit at Severn Villa on The Peak was reportedly sold for HKD 232 million or HKD 170,463 per sq ft, saleable; a record high in terms of unit price for apartments in the city. The sales enabled the vendor to lock in a gain of 18 times the original purchase price in 2003.

JLL’s Henry Mok, regional director of Capital Markets tells World Property Journal, “Large developers with relatively healthy cash positions have recently been using aggressive financing schemes to lift market attention. Smaller developers, in contrast, resorted to offering outright price cuts to lure buyers. Despite home prices having stabilized in recent months, new launches will significantly increase in July and August. As such, we expect developers to be pricing their flats conservatively, putting further pressure on secondary market prices.”

Stella Abraham

Stella Abraham, Head of Residential Leasing and Relocation Services at JLL also commented, “The decline in residential rentals is expected to have narrowed in recent months, on the back of strong seasonal leasing activity. We are continuing to see the emergence of a two-tiered market, with properties offering monthly rents between HKD30,000 and HKD100,000 still highly sought after and demand for stock with monthly rents over HKD100,000 remaining subdued. Meanwhile, rents of properties in the HKD70,000-100,000 range stabilized against limited available stock in that budget range.”