HK home prices rebound 0.35pc in April
A valuation expert says significant rebounds in property prices are still unlikely this year as developers may continue to cut prices. Photo: RTHK
Hong Kong's lived-in home prices rebounded in April, capping a four-month decline.
Official figures released by the Rating and Valuation Department on Wednesday showed that the home price index rose to 285.7 in April, up 0.35 percent from a month earlier, but that was still 7.7 percent lower from a year ago.
For the first four months of the year, however, the gauge declined 1.21 percent.
While prices of small and medium-sized units rose by 0.35 percent month on month on average, that for large units rose higher, 0.42 percent.
Rental prices, meanwhile, continued to head north for the fifth consecutive month, and rose by 0.31 percent to 193.7 last month, or 3.64 percent higher over a year ago.
For the first four months, the rental gauge was up by 0.62 percent.
Commenting on the figures, Eddie Kwok, executive director of valuation and advisory services at CBRE Hong Kong, said residential prices had stabilised and were bottoming out.
"Positive carry for residential properties resurfaces as the one-month Hong Kong interbank offered rate [Hibor] dropped in May," he said.
The one-month Hibor rate, which is linked to local mortgage loans, fell to its lowest point in nearly three years last week, thanks to a flood of liquidity entering the city's capital markets.
"If this trend can be sustained, the residential property market is likely to experience a recovery as it might cost less to repay mortgages as compared to renting," Kwok said.
"And this is likely to attract buy-to-lease investors and end-users entering the residential property market eventually."
But Kwok noted that significant rebounds in prices are still unlikely this year as developers that are keen to clear out their mounting inventories might take the opportunity to replenish their capital and continue to cut prices.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has warned that Hibor rates may still rebound.
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