From now to August is considered the low season in the property market because many prospective buyers go on holiday. However, some estate agents predict this year will be different.
'Potential buyers have been holding out on purchasing properties since the government laid out new regulations in April [to cool the market], but owners are unwilling to lower their prices and, by next month, it is expected that buyers will cave in and start buying again,' says Matthew Chung Kwong-yiu, sales manager at Sunshine Property Consultant.
The unusual pattern for property sales this year in Clearwater Bay reconfirms Chung's assumption that the market will pick up next month.
During the Lunar New Year, another low season for property sales, the number of transactions shot up compared with previous years.
However, sales in Clearwater Bay dropped 60 per cent last month compared with April, and there have only been six transactions so far this month. Although transactions have slowed in the area, the average price per-square-foot has remained steady, at about HK$18,000 for houses and HK$6,000 to HK$7,000 for village houses.
A house at Palisade, Silverstrand Bay in Clearwater Bay, has been on the market for a month and Sunshine Property, the sole sales agent for the house, predicts it will be sold soon.