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April property boom as Hong Kong transactions set for highest monthly level in six years

By Lam Ka-sing kasing.lam@scmp.com

/ https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/3008023/april-property-boom-hong-kong-transactions-set-highest?utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=contentexchange&utm_source=EdgeProp |

April 30, 2019 4:15 PM SGT

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The number of property transactions in Hong Kong this month is on track for a more than 50 per cent gain from March, reflecting the highest monthly level for more than six years and an indication that bullish sentiment in the sector has returned.

Total monthly transactions for property assets including homes, parking spaces, and commercial sites reached 7,850 as of April 24, according to data released by Centaline Property Agency on Sunday.

"The number of transactions in April is expected to reach 9,700, up 50.9 per cent compared to March," said Wong Leung-sing, senior associate director of research at Centaline. "As the market continued to boom, the deal number could be the highest during any single month since 11,581 in November 2012, after the government introduced a buyers' stamp duty and a tougher special stamp duty."

The properties sold as of April 24 had a combined value of HK$68.26 billion (US$8.7 billion). Wong said the amount could reach HK$84 billion, up 59 per cent compared to March and the highest since the HK$99.37 billion in July last year.

Buyers flock to Centra Horizon's property sale in Tai Po, in an overwhelming response that is a harbinger of rising home prices

At LP6 in Lohas Park, a project by Nan Fung Development, a total of 298 new homes were sold this month worth a combined HK$3.05 billion.

Prices of previously lived-in homes rose 1.6 per cent for the week ended April 21, reflecting the 11th consecutive week of gains, according to Centaline Property Agency's Centa-City Leading Index. The weekly rise was the biggest jump since March 18, 2018.

Midland Realty said the total value of new homes sold in the six years between May 2013 and last Wednesday amounted to HK$1.14 trillion, up 65.8 per cent compared to the HK$686.07 billion in the previous six years. The number of transactions was also up 29.4 per cent to 98,763.

Consortium of three developers wins bid for priciest land plot in Lohas Park, signalling bullishness on outlook

Separately, Savills said that multiple factors supported positive market sentiment in the office sector, which could drive prices and volumes over the next six to nine months.

"Investors and end users began to look for bargains, with landlords quick to increase asking prices in the face of improving economic conditions and more positive sentiment," said Peter Yuen, managing director and head of investment and sales at Savills. "As we can see, positive indicators like the 4,000-point gain in the Hang Seng Index since the turn of the year and a rebound in trading value both suggest a strong influx of capital into the territory looking for investment opportunities."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2019 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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