Hong Kong home prices fall to the lowest level since January 2021 as distressed owners slash prices, sell at a loss
- Prices fell 0.7 per cent to 381.3 in March, the lowest since 381.9 in January 2021, government index shows
- Owners of 264 homes sold their homes at a loss in the first quarter, the highest since the third quarter of 2010, according to Ricacorp
Lived-in home prices in Hong Kong fell for the third straight month in March to a 14-month low as many homeowners sold their units at heavily discounted prices or even at a loss as the city struggled to contain the fifth-wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prices fell 0.7 per cent to 381.3 last month, the lowest since 381.9 in January 2021, according to an index published by the Rating and Valuation Department on Wednesday. Home prices eased 3.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, wiping out the 3.19 per cent gain in 2021.
“Homeowners selling at a loss reached a new high in the first quarter,” said Dereck Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. “It reflects the devastating impact of the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic on the property market.”
A total of 264 homes changed hands at a loss in the first quarter, the highest since the third quarter of 2010, according to Ricacorp. The average gain per residential transaction, meanwhile, fell for the third consecutive quarter to 66.7 per cent, the lowest in the past 5.5 years.
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Homebuyers are staying on the sidelines in anticipation of an imminent increase in interest rates, while demand is also being affected by the rising unemployment rate and a slump in stock market.