Hong Kong home prices to increase in the second quarter as buyers return amid easing social tensions, says Centaline Surveyors
- Property prices expected to rise 5 per cent in the second quarter, says Centaline Surveyors
- Government needs to speed up the development of brownfield sites and land sharing scheme to increase land supply
Hong Kong property prices are expected to bounce back in the second quarter amid rising sales of new flats, according to Centaline Surveyors.
Louis Chan Wing-kit, vice-chairman for Asia-Pacific at Centaline Surveyors, said property prices could bounce back by 5 per cent in the second quarter from its lowest point last year, as buyers take advantage of low interest rates and gradual easing of the social unrest.
“Home prices went on a roller-coaster ride last year,” Chan said, noting that net price gain in Hong Kong was 4 per cent in 2019. Residential prices fell 6 per cent in the second half as demand weakened because of the violent anti-government protests, after rising more than 10 per cent in the first six months of last year, according to Centaline.
The upbeat sentiment was shared by Thomas Lam of Knight Frank. “After the holidays, property prices could boom temporarily at higher transaction volumes, but turnover may not be as high as previous years,” said the Knight Frank executive director.
However, property consultancy Colliers International took a different view, saying in its annual outlook on Tuesday that it expected Hong Kong property prices to fall 5 per cent and luxury home prices to drop by a much sharper 10 per cent.