Hong Kong home sales transactions fall to lowest in four months in August

Hong Kong home sales dipped last month with transaction volume in the secondary market falling to a four-month low as home seekers stayed on the sidelines, according to real estate agents.

Some 3,407 deals for flats in the primary and secondary market were struck, a 14.5 per cent decline from July and a 57.9 per cent decrease compared with August last year, Land Registry figures showed. The value of the transactions totalled HK$19.6 billion, down 6.8 per cent from July and 50.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Adding non-residential properties like offices and shops to the total saw property transactions fall 6.9 per cent month on month to 5,111, equivalent to a 50.7 per cent year-on-year decrease. The value of the transactions totalled HK$30.1 billion. That was a 8.9 per cent month-on-month fall and a 44.4 per cent year-on-year decline.

"It was the fifth month home sales stayed at a low level of between 4,000 and 6,000, showing that buying interest remains weak," Centaline Property Agency research head Wong Leung-sing said.

The Land Registry figures did not give a breakdown of home sales but Centaline said sales on the secondary market fell 22 per cent last month from July to 2,658 units, the lowest since April's 2,171 units.

Transaction value in the secondary market dropped 15.5 per cent month-on-month to HK$15.2 billion.