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Doris Chan

Property agency Fortune Realty expects the number of mortgagee-held residential properties on the secondary market to rise by up to 15 per cent this year due to a higher number of loan defaults.

Managing director James Tin Kwok-keung said home prices were likely to drop 3 per cent to 5 per cent in the first quarter given the economic situation.

As a result, many would-be home-buyers would remain hesitant, he said.

High unemployment would also contribute to the rising number of mortgagee-held residential units.

Fortune Realty estimated there were about 5,000 mortgagee-held properties on the market.

Properties re-possessed by the banks were generally put up for auction.

As a result, Mr Tin said his company was planning to expand its 10-member auction division to about 50 employees by the end of this year to capture the business being generated in this sector. He hoped this area would contribute significantly to the firm's business.

He said primary residential sales would remain the firm's main focus as many new developments would come on to the market this year.

The firm has up to 120 agents in its primary residential sales team. Mr Tin expects to expand this number to about 150 in the next few months.



Mortgaged units on offer to rise