Bad news: Hong Kong homeowners looking to sell may have missed window as price decline set to deepen

The Centa-City Leading Index, which has already lost 16.8 per cent since the peak in August 2021, is expected to decline further to nearly 25 per cent by late January

The decline for some estates has exceeded that level, with Telford Gardens in Kowloon Bay witnessing a slump of 30 per cent

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Prices of flats in Telford Gardens have slumped 30 per cent this year. Photo: Handout

Published: 10:00am, 4 Dec 2022Updated: 11:26am, 7 Dec 2022

Homeowners in Hong Kong looking to sell have missed the window for striking a favourable deal, analysts said, as they expect property prices to continue to slump after touching the lowest level in five years.

The Centa-City Leading (CCL) Index, a gauge of lived-in homes compiled by Centaline Property Agency, fell 1.6 per cent to 159.76 for the week ending November 20 and dipped a further 0.4 per cent to 159.16 for the week ending November 27, the lowest since October 2017. While the index has lost 16.8 per cent since it hit a record high of 191.34 in August 2021, Centaline expects a further 9.5 per cent drop to 144 by Lunar New Year in late January. If the gauge hits 144, a level last seen in 2016, the overall decline could touch 24.7 per cent.

Price declines in some estates have already exceeded that level, slumping by as much as 30 per cent since the peak.

“The decline in home prices has not stopped,” said Wong Leung-sing, senior associate director of research at Centaline. “If there is no good news in the market that can cause fluctuations, the CCL will test the 144 level around Chinese New Year.”

People walk past residential property advertisements displayed in the window of an estate agency in Tai Koo. Photo: Dickson Lee

At Telford Gardens in Kowloon Bay, prices have plummeted 30 per cent from HK$15,151 (US$1,939) in September 2021 to HK$10,602 in the week ending November 20. Greenfield Garden in Tsing Yi has seen prices sink 28.9 per cent from HK$16,470 in mid-August 2021 to HK$11,706.