New | Mainland Chinese buyers stayed off Hong Kong property as yuan weakened

The share of mainland Chinese buyers in Hong Kong’s luxury residential property transactions declined in the third quarter, according to data by Centaline Property Agency, as the yuan weakened against the city’s dollar-pegged currency.

Mainland Chinese made up 15.8 per cent of buyers during the quarter, 5.5 percentage points fewer than in the second quarter, and the lowest since 2015, according to Centaline’s data tracking the sales of residential property valued at HK$12 million and above.

“An increasing number of local Hong Kong buyers had been buying up luxury homes, diluting the market share of mainland buyers in sales and value,” said Wong Leung-sing, an associate director of research at Centaline.

The renminbi weakened 0.6 per cent against the Hong Kong dollar in the third quarter, extending a trend that’s seen it deteriorating 4.6 per cent in the 12 months to September, making the city’s property more expensive in yuan terms.

Mainland Chinese buyers accounted for as much as a third of all luxury home sales in Hong Kong in both the primary and secondary markets during the second quarter of 2012.

Aggressive bids by some of these buyers were at times blamed for pushing up average prices, setting residential property beyond the reach of many local buyers.