Hong Kong home prices fell in August to lowest since February 2019, unlikely to be boosted by ‘0+3’ quarantine relaxation
- Prices of homes in Hong Kong fell by 2.26 per cent in August, their largest monthly decline since November 2018
- Official property price index for the whole year will fall by around 8 per cent, Knight Frank executive says
An index measuring overall home prices slumped to 368.2 in August from 376.7 in July, according to official data released on Wednesday by the Rating and Valuation Department. Prices for flats of at least 752 sq ft fell 2.3 per cent in August, while prices for flats smaller than that decreased by 0.83 per cent. The August reading is the lowest since February 2019, when it settled at 367, government data shows.
It is also the largest sequential monthly decline since November 2018, said Martin Wong, director and head of research and consultancy for Greater China at Knight Frank.
“It is expected that the official index will continue to find the bottom in September,” Wong said. “As the HKMA [Hong Kong Monetary Authority] relaxes the threshold for stress testing, property prices are expected to bottom out in the fourth quarter, and the official property price index for the whole year will fall by around 8 per cent.”
Home prices have so far this year retreated by 6.5 per cent, and reflect the impact of higher interest rates and the lingering effects of Hong Kong’s coronavirus restrictions.
