More Hong Kong owners are selling homes at losses as emigration and rising interest rates turn city into buyers’ market

The number of loss-making lived-in home transactions surpassed 100 from March to June, much higher than a year earlier

Leftover stock of new flats rose for three consecutive months to about 13,446 units in June, the most since records started in 2013

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A woman looks at residential property advertisements displayed in the window of a real estate agency in Wong Tai Sin. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 7:14pm, 22 Jul 2022Updated: 8:37pm, 22 Jul 2022

Hong Kong’s housing market is seeing signs of a slump as more owners sell at a loss amid a wave of emigration, rising interest rates and a stock market slump, while developers’ inventory levels rose to a record high in June as they rushed to launch new projects.

The first six months saw more loss-making transactions compared with last year, except in February, according to data compiled by Ricacorp Properties from official records. The number of loss-making transactions surpassed 100 from March to June.

“The recent [increase in the frequency] of loss-making cases of second-hand homes may be related to the year-to-date decline in the stock market, which has made some owners eager to cash out and sell their homes to meet their capital needs,” said Derek Chan, Ricacorp Properties’ head of research.

Eighty homes changed hands at a loss this month as of July 20. Chan said he expected the number to remain at over 100 in July and August.

A view of Kowloon from the International Commerce Centre. Photo: Sam Tsang

“Some owners who are emigrating believed that the market situation was not clear, but they were eager to sell, so they were willing to offer higher discounts to offload the stock, which led to the increase in loss-making transactions,” Chan said.