Hong Kong home prices soften again in June, down 1.2%

Sun Hung Kai Properties

29/07/2024 06:01

HONG KONG, July 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's private home
prices eased 1.2% in June, the second monthly decline in a row,
as more property developers launched new flats at steep
discounts to boost sales. 
    The fall last month in one of the world's most expensive
property markets followed a revised 1.3% drop in May from April,
official data showed on Monday. For the first six months, home
prices have eased 3.1%. 
    Home prices have lost steam in May after rising for two
months in a row thanks to the lifting of all property purchase
curbs, as realtors said much of the pent-up homebuying demand
has been sated.
    In late February, Hong Kong removed all additional stamp
duties for foreign and second home buyers, as well as on those
selling flats within two years of buying them, after prices had
plunged more than 20% from their 2021 peak, hurt by higher
mortgage rates, an outflow of talent and a weak market outlook.
    Realtors expected prices would continue to soften until
banks in the city start to cut interest rates.      
    Earlier this month, major property developer Sun Hung Kai
Properties  0016.HK  won a bid to acquire a land parcel in the
New Territories at a floor price more than 50% cheaper than that
of a similar parcel sold two years ago. 
    Addressing the lacklustre demand in the property market, the
government said in early July that it would only sell one
residential site in the July-September quarter, after no land
was sold at all for the first time in the first three months of
2024.


 (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
 ((clare.jim@thomsonreuters.com;))