Maintaining 'stable' property prices remains our goal, says Hong Kong's financial chief John Tsang

Hong Kong's financial chief says the government's goal has always been to maintain a "stable" property market, amid some dire predictions for home prices recently.

John Tsang Chun-wah would not say if the government's market-cooling measures needed to be revised in order to stabilise the market, but he seemed to suggest that a rise in US interest rates this year would not be as likely as once expected.

He said he expected the Federal Reserve to look into the US economic situation before making a decision on interest rates.

When asked by reporters to comment on predictions last week by investment bank UBS that home prices in Hong Kong would fall by up to 30 per cent in the next two years, he replied: "Concerning the property market, it has always been our objective to keep the market developing in a stable manner. It will continue to be our objective."

The financial secretary sent a shockwave through the market recently after he said the government would adjust its policies accordingly if needed in the wake of recent corrections in the property market, prompted partly by the prospects of a US interest rate increase this year.

Tsang's remarks were widely interpreted as a sign that the government was considering dropping some market-cooling measures adopted since 2012.