Hong Kong (Reuters) – Hong Kong house prices fell 0.7% and 7.1% in 2024 in December, government figures showed, as the real estate market is struggling to find the bottom despite reducing interest rates and government support measures.
Numbers
Private prices of houses in December fell 0.7% in December, after an increased increase of 0.03% in November and an increase of 1% in October, data from the Assessment and Value Assessment Department showed.
Before October, the prices decreased five months straight.
For the whole year, 2024. The prices dropped 7.1%.
Why is that important
Hong Kong house prices, one of the most appropriate cities in the world, collapsed almost 30% from the top of 2021, injured at the beginning of the higher mortgage rates, alleviating demand because many professionals left the territory and poor market prospects.
In 2024, the authorities tried to support the sick sector with measures such as raising all restrictions on the purchase of assets and relaxation of the advance ratio. But the demand for housing remained soft, especially in the secondary market.
Comments on the market
Realtors forecast houses’ prices at the age of 2025 will increase or fall by 5%, depending on the pace of the official reduction of the rates and severity of trade tension between China and the USA.
“When interest rates and stock supplies are descended, the other half of the year can be recorded by a more obvious increase in prices,” said Martin Wong, director of Knight Frank Real Estate Counseling.
CONTEXT
The main banks, including HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong), reduced their best lending rate in Hong Kong in December for 25 base points for the third time this year, after the moves of US federal reserves.
The territory currency is bound by the US dollar, but local banks make their own decisions on the rate.
