Hong Kong second-hand home sales rebound to 7-week high after new curbs

Secondary home sales rebounded to a seven-week high in the week to last Sunday - the highest level since the government launched a new round of cooling measures in late-February.

There were 93 sales in the city's 50 largest private housing estates according to Ricacorp Properties data, up 13 per cent from 82 sales the previous week.

"Sales of flats with smaller lump-sum prices have quickened as they are less affected by the austerity measures, hence the overall sales of secondary homes continued to climb," Ricacorp director David Chan said.

On February 22 the government announced new measures, including a doubling of stamp duty for homes and non-residential properties valued at more than HK$2 million, and requiring buyers of non-residential properties to pay stamp duty earlier.

Second-hand home sales then dived from 117 deals in the week ended February 18 to as low as 57 in mid-March before climbing to 93 last week, according to Ricacorp.

Of the sales last week, 54 were in the New Territories, up from 42 the previous week.