Hong kong sales plummet

Photo: Sanfamedia.com

Hong Kong property sales plummeted in January 2016, according to new figures, with the market on track for its worst month since records began in 1991.

Data from Centaline Property Agency forecast that sales would hit 3,000 by the end of the month. Only 394 new units were sold in the first 27 days of January, notes the South China Morning Post, 80.3 per cent lower than December 2015, with sales of used homes down by 20 per cent to 1,276.

The trend is echoed by a survey from Ricacorp Properties, which found 2,908 sales were registered with the Land Registry in the month's first 28 days.

The cooling market has been attributed to a range of factors, as developers slow down launches, impacted by a reduction in government land sales, while mortgage rates are also expected to climb as a knock-on effect of America's Federal Reserve deciding to raise interest rates - probably prompting Hong Kong's banks to do the same.

Now, developers are offering discounts and incentives to stimulate sales - something that has also left existing home sellers having to cut their prices to remain competitive. In September 2015, prices prices fell 10 per cent from the market peak.

Official data will be published in the coming week.