Hong Kong's Property Sales Surge to 4-Month High, Signaling Recovery

The sale of newly built and previously owned residences, commercial spaces, office units, car parking spots, and industrial properties surged by 55 percent to reach 6,657 transactions in the previous month.

Hong Kong's property sales rose to their highest point in four months during March, following a resurgence. stock market Moreover, a reduced taxation plan for residences boosted morale, as reported by two of the city's biggest agencies.

Sales of both new and second-hand homes, retail spaces, offices, car park spots, and industrial properties surged by 55 percent to reach 6,657 units, with the total transaction value increasing by 61 percent to hit HK$45.63 billion (US$5.9 billion) last month, as estimated by Midland Realty.

Ricacorp Properties reported that approximately 6,672 parcels were sold, which is an increase of 54 percent compared to the previous month.

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"With favourable property market measures [announced] in the budget at the end of February and the strong performance of Hong Kong stocks in recent months, new property sales have been outstanding," said Midland's chief analyst Buggle Lau Ka-fai.

Ricacorp stated that the optimistic trend seems set to continue, predicting that deal volumes in April could hit 7,040 lots. This figure would mark the peak of monthly transactions since the record of 7,695 lots was observed in November, according to the agency.

The revival in the city's real estate industry vindicates the stamp duty cuts announced in February by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who slashed the levy on homes worth up to HK$4 million to HK$100 from HK$60,000. The previous threshold was HK$3 million. The change could spur sales of HK$4 million flats to account for 30 per cent of private home sales, up from 25 per cent in 2024, CBRE said.

"The easing of stamp duties for properties worth HK$4 million has led to many buyers chasing small residential units," said Ricacorp's head of research Derek Chan.

A booming stock market also lifted sentiment, encouraging more buyers to enter the market. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index has risen by about 14.5 per cent this year, lifting its market value to about HK$26.7 trillion.

Buyers of residential property were the most active, increasing their purchases by about 64 per cent to 5,630 units, up from 3,442 in February, Midland added. Commercial and industrial deals increased by about 46 per cent to 396 units, while transactions for car parking spaces jumped about 28 per cent to 354.

In the first two months of the year, overall property sales improved by about 22 per cent to 9,245 units, according to the latest data from the Land Registry.

Despite the improving property sales, prices in the secondary home market continued to fall for the third straight month in February, according to the Rating and Valuation Department.

Home prices for lived-in properties dropped by 0.9 percent in February compared to the previous month, reaching their lowest level since July 2016, as indicated by an index put together by the department.

In the fourth quarter, Hong Kong experienced the second-largest decrease in housing prices, dropping by 8.2%, according to data from Knight Frank for 55 international markets. The only region that performed worse was Mainland China, which saw an 8.6% decline, as revealed in the consultancy’s latest report issued on Tuesday.

Savills anticipates that the price of mass-market residential properties in the city will decrease by 5 to 10 percent this year, with a potential further reduction of up to 5 percent. luxury flats While terrace homes might experience a decline of around 5 percent in value, according to its most recent report.

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