Ongoing protests drag Hong Kong property market down

Weekly transactions involving used homes fell to their lowest level this year on 28 July—down 48.9 per cent to 23 transactions in 35 major private estates, according to  Midland Realty, the South China Morning Post reports.

“In particular, the turnover of Kingswood Villas dived by more than 90 per cent from 14 transactions to merely one last week,” said Buggle Lau, chief analyst at Midland.

Homebuyers are also exhibiting cold feet, with dozens willing to forfeit more than HKD3.5 million in deposits and other fees rather than completing contracts for new homes worth more than HKD70 million.

The secondary market has also seen some buyers walking away from deals as they are willing to take chances on lower property prices in the future.

Hong Kong is the least affordable housing market in the world, which has presented major challenges to the city’s housing problem. However, as of the end of the second quarter of 2019, the inventory of unsold residential properties has risen to its highest level in more than a decade, with 10,000 unsold homes.

The US-China trade war uncertainties and ongoing unrest in the city have driven many developers to the sidelines and drained their appetite for long-term investment. ― Construction+ Online