Hong Kong property in double trouble after government rejects bids for Tung Chung site, deal flow in Oct at 7-year low

Hong Kong’s residential property market was dealt a double blow after the government withdrew a residential site in Tung Chung owing to low bids even as property deals in October fell to a more than seven-year low, highlighting the difficulty that the sector is facing amid economic uncertainty and high interest rates.

Hong Kong’s property transactions are likely to hit a 33-year low this year with October property sales falling by 24.9 per cent to 2,925, according to one of the city’s largest property agencies.

Last month’s property deals, which include sales of flats, car parks, commercial and industrial units, were the lowest in terms of volumes since February 2016, while the total value of transactions struck a 10-month low at HK$30.14 billion (US$3.85 billion), said Centaline Property Agency.

“The downward trend is likely to persist with total property transactions for the full year of 2023 expected to plummet to a 33-year low, reaching around the 58,000 mark,” the property agency said in a statement. In the first 10 months of the year, 50,726 deals were registered. Last year, 59,619 property units changed hands, the lowest since records began in 1991.

Centaline originally forecast property sales to hit the 60,000 level this year.