Top executives in Hong Kong property sector want stamp duties eased
Top executives at two leading property companies want purchasing restrictions loosened in response to a decline in home transactions
Top figures in Hong Kong's property sector have criticised government purchasing restrictions, calling for a review of current measures amid a plunge in home transactions in recent months.
Responding to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's declaration on Tuesday that the government would not loosen current restrictions to support prices, they said that the measures would leave the market vulnerable to shocks next year and have far-reaching consequences on the property sector as a whole.
Joseph Tsang, managing director of property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle, said although the first half of this year saw decent transaction volumes, transactions declined starting from the third quarter to about 2,800 in November.
Average monthly sales volume in the second half of this year also dropped 36.5 per cent compared with last year, despite having risen 20.4 per cent in the first half.
"I'm afraid if the government won't do anything at all, it will be more or less the same as October and November for the whole of 2016," Tsang added.
He said the main problem with the government's restrictions was that they had prevented people from being able to borrow from banks.
"With all the cooling measures, the market probably will drop very seriously ... if there are unforeseen circumstances. It could be as high as 20 to 30 per cent."
