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Buy-and-sell home market loses steam as deals fall off

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Cooling times puts a dampener on speculative confirmor transactions

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If confirmation is needed that the steam has gone out of the speculative residential property market, the latest data for confirmor transactions highlights the becalmed conditions.

According to property agent Midland Realty, only 160 confirmor deals are expected to be completed this month, representing less than 4 per cent of secondary market activity. Last month, 193 purchases were recorded.

Confirmors buy and sell a property before a transaction is completed and they are generally thought to be speculators. In hot market conditions, the sector witnesses high levels of such deals, but prices are now holding steady.

Buggle Lau Ka-fai, the chief analyst at Midland Realty, said that of the deals recorded this month, 78 sold their units at a profit.

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Soaring property prices in the second quarter saw confirmor deals hit a post-1997 high in April with 580 transactions - 7.5 per cent of secondary activity.

By contrast, the Land Registry had registered only 140 deals this month by Thursday.

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