After months in the deep freeze, the housing market is showing signs of thawing, as buyers return from the sidelines.
In February, monthly home sales in the primary and secondary markets rebounded 10 per cent over the previous month, figures from the Land Registry show. But February home sales were still 63 per cent lower than the corresponding month a year earlier.
'All the bad news that has come out is getting absorbed, be it the local property cooling measures or the euro-zone debt crisis,' says Patrick Chow Moon-kit, head of research at Ricacorp Properties.
'Buyers, especially first-time buyers, have realised that housing policies will remain unchanged in the near future. Despite all the fears, life has to go on. When you have a genuine need to buy your first home or move up the housing ladder because of a bigger family, you can't wait for too long.'
Midland Realty's chief analyst, Buggle Lau, believes demand from first-time buyers is a key factor in the growth in activity.
'Having waited for months, some first-time buyers are acquiescing to the reality in pricing and are getting off the sidelines,' he says. He believes the pent-up demand from newly-weds has been suppressed for months.
'Last year, the total number of marriages was up 10.1 per cent over 2010 to reach a record 579,000. That compares with 376,000 registrations in 1997, when the property market was at its peak,' he says. 'And don't forget about the Year of the Dragon effect. More babies will be born this year, even if you don't take into account those born to mainland mothers.'