Self doubt about ability to own homes puts Hong Kong consumer confidence behind the mainland, Taiwan and Macau
Study finds high property prices continue to plague consumers in the city
Hong Kong has the lowest overall consumer confidence among mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, surveys conducted by universities across the regions have found.
The city’s score was dragged down by a sharp decline in faith in the property market despite the government’s cooling measures.
By contrast, consumer confidence on the mainland rose to the highest level since 2009 when the survey was first conducted, gaining 1.2 points from the third quarter of last year to 105.1 in the fourth quarter of last year.
A score of above 100 indicated confidence, and that below 100 reflects the lack of it. The maximum possible score is 200.
The mainland was followed by Macau, which saw a slight increase of 0.16 points to 88.12. Taiwan came third with 87.5 points, gaining 3.9 points. Hong Kong was the only place that saw a decline – losing 3.1 points to 86.8.
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“Hong Kong people have long had little confidence in property purchases. Property prices in Hong Kong have been going up for some 10 months already. Reports have suggested that the average property prices in the city are the highest in the world,” City University of Hong Kong’s Geoffrey Tso Kwok-fai said in Beijing as the findings were announced.