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The latest figures show total sales values fell 39.2 per cent in the six months to HK$189.5 billion. Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters.

Hong Kong property sales plunge nearly 40pc in past six months

Midland Realty says its 26,571 deals was the worst total since 1991

Hong Kong’s overall property sales plunged nearly 40 per cent in the six months ending June compared with last year, according to the latest figures from Midland Realty.

Despite a recent improvement in sentiment, the agent said the dim economic outlook and increased home supply continued to cast a shadow over the market.

Midland said it had “the worst six-month number recorded” since it started surveying prices in 1991, after registering 26,571 deals in the period, a 39.1 per cent slump on the 43,636 deals signed in the first half of 2015.

The latest figures show total sales values fell 39.2 per cent in the six months to HK$189.5 billion, according to the data released by Midland.

On a month-on-month basis, the city’s property sales fell only slightly to 6,033 in June, against May’s 6,065, according to The Land Registry.

The numbers showed total transaction value fell 18.5 per cent to HK$39.7 billion in June, while sales of residential units last month rose 0.7 per cent to 4,620 month-on-month.

Ricacorp Properties said it now expected sales of first-hand homes to increase in the second half as developers rush to dispose of stock.

It said it was targeting 8,000 first-hand homes to be sold in the second half, against 5,814 deals in the first half.

Ricacorp said first-half sales in the city’s primary residential market mainly came from projects in the New Territorities, accounting for 61 per cent of total sales.

Those included Savannah by Wheelock Properties and Ocean Wings by Sun Hung Kai Properties, both in Tseung Kwan O, and Twin Regency in Yuen Long, also developed by Sun Hung Kai.

Hong Kong home prices rebounded in May for the second consecutive month, but are still 10 per cent lower than their September 2015 peak, according to government data.

Analysts said an influx of new supply to come onto the market, along with global economic uncertainties created by Brexit, could dampen demand further in the second half year.

The Rating and Valuation Department’s monthly supplement released last Thursday showed the general price index for private homes rose to 275.5 in May, up 0.73 per cent from April.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: HK market hit by 39pc decline in home sales
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