Hong Kong luxury home sales dropped sharply last month as measures to cool the sector began to weigh on buying sentiment.
Of 7,635 home sales lodged with the Land Registry last month, Ricacorp Properties said those involving properties worth HK$7 million to HK$10 million dropped 37 per cent to 700, from 1,119 in March.
Those costing more than HK$10 million registered a month-on-month decline of 20 per cent to 671, said the agent.
'The high-end sector is mainly affected by a lower loan-to-value ratio offered by banks, higher interest rates and more conservative attitudes to property valuation,' said Patrick Chow, head of research at Ricacorp Properties.
The fall in the number of transactions also reflected the impact of a rise in stamp duty, which was reducing short-term speculation, Chow said.
Properties bought and sold within six months incur a 15 per cent stamp duty under the new measures. This is in addition to the standard stamp duty of 4.25 per cent.