Latest news with #EddieKwok
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong home sales surge among lower-priced units thanks to stamp-duty adjustment
Hong Kong's residential property market recovery is gaining traction, with transactions of lower-priced homes rising sharply on the back of improved sentiment and recent government tax relief measures. From March to May, 3,780 residential properties priced between HK$3 million (US$382,000) and HK$4 million were sold, a 73 per cent increase from the same period last year, according to data disclosed by the government on Wednesday. The surge in activity came after the government adjusted stamp duty bands on February 26 to ease the burden on buyers of lower-valued properties. The maximum value of properties eligible for a flat HK$100 stamp duty was raised to HK$4 million from HK$3 million, helping buyers save up to HK$59,000. The fresh figures reinforced a broader improvement in Hong Kong's housing market. Residential transactions in June climbed to a seven-month high of 5,955 units, up 16.7 per cent from May, according to the Land Registry. It also marked the fourth consecutive month in which sales exceeded 5,000 units, a streak last seen before the 2021 market downturn. 'The fact that positive performance has continued this year, despite the absence of significant stimulus, indicates a more resilient and fundamentally sound housing market,' said Eddie Kwok, executive director at CBRE, in a research note on Thursday. In the first half of 2025, residential transactions rose 4.2 per cent year on year to 28,947 units, with about two-thirds coming from the secondary market, according to data compiled by property consultancy CBRE.
South China Morning Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong property market ‘resilient and fundamentally sound' as sales hit 7-month high
Property deals in Hong Kong surged to a seven-month high in June while home sales exceeded a key threshold for the fourth straight month, according to official data, contributing to a more positive outlook for the battered sector. Advertisement Overall property deals in June – homes, office units, shops, industrial premises and car parking slots – rose by about 13 per cent from May to 7,271, the Land Registry said on Thursday. Property worth HK$66.41 billion (US$8.46 billion) changed hands, up by more than a third from a month earlier. Residential transactions in June also hit the highest point in seven months at 5,955 units, 16.7 per cent higher than in May, the data showed. It was the first time since the market downturn began in late 2021 that home sales topped 5,000 units for four months in a row, according to CBRE. 'The fact that positive performance has continued this year, despite the absence of significant stimulus, indicates a more resilient and fundamentally sound residential market,' said Eddie Kwok, executive director for valuation and advisory services at the property consultancy. The number of property deals in June was the highest since 7,689 in November, and the value was the highest since April last year when sales hit HK$83.9 billion, according to data compiled by agents. Advertisement Residential sales for the first half of 2025 rose 4.2 per cent from a year earlier to 28,947 units, the data showed.
South China Morning Post
26-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong home prices post tiny gain in April, bolstering case for end of long slump
Hong Kong's lived-in home prices posted a small gain for the second straight month in May, according to official data, fortifying hopes of a sustained recovery in the city's property market. Advertisement An official index measuring secondary home prices inched up by 0.03 per cent in May from a month earlier, the Rating and Valuation Department said on Thursday. In April, the gauge rose 0.35 per cent from March. In the first five months of the year, second-hand home prices declined by 0.9 per cent. They are down 28 per cent from a peak in September 2021. 'While residential prices are bottoming out, significant rises are not expected in 2025,' said Eddie Kwok, executive director for valuation and advisory services at CBRE Hong Kong. 'Given the improvement in market sentiment coupled with low financing costs, we maintain our forecast of 0 per cent to 5 per cent growth in residential prices for 2025. This may also call an end to the residential market correction since 2021.' Advertisement Prices retreated slightly in Class E segment – homes with saleable area of at least 160 square metres (1,722 sq ft) – while four other housing categories were either unchanged or posted small gains, the data showed.
Business Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Hong Kong home prices snap falling streak in April
[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's home prices ended four months of decline and edged up in April, government figures showed on Wednesday (May 28), as falling mortgage rates helped lift buying sentiment. Private home prices rose 0.4 per cent in April from the month before, following a revised 0.3 per cent fall in March, data from the Rating and Valuation Department showed. The prices have dropped 1.2 per cent so far this year to their lowest level since 2016. Home prices in Hong Kong, one of the world's most unaffordable cities, have tumbled nearly 30 per cent from a 2021 peak, hurt by higher mortgage rates, a weak economic outlook, and poor demand as many professionals have left the territory. Authorities tried to prop up the sector last year, lifting all curbs on property purchases and relaxing down payment ratios, but housing demand has remained soft. Realtors forecast home prices in 2025 could rise or fall by 5 per cent, depending on the pace of official rate cuts and the severity of trade tensions between China and the United States. Eddie Kwok, executive director of real estate consultancy CBRE, said if the interbank rate continues to fall, the residential property market may see a recovery as it may cost less to repay mortgage as compared to rent. One-month Hong Kong dollar interbank rate Hibor, which many of the mortgage plans are linked to, hit a fresh three-year low this week, making mortgage rates more affordable for home buyers. REUTERS
RTHK
28-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
HK home prices rebound 0.35pc in April
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.
