Centaline claims bigger slice of Hong Kong flat market

The trench warfare between Hong Kong's two biggest property agencies remains as fierce as ever, but market leader Centaline Property Agency claims it is gaining ever more turf from weakened rival Midland.

Shih Wing-ching, the founder of the 320-branch Centaline operation, said the firm had captured 30 per cent of the city's market share by number of transactions and an even higher mark for commission revenue. "The gap between us and the second player is widening from last year," he said.

Shih's comments come as shareholders in Midland, which operates 231 outlets under Midland Realty, brace for the company's biggest annual loss since it listed in 1995.

In the first half of last year, the company posted a loss of HK$88.73 million, and in August, it warned that the following six months would see a similar decline. Midland is chaired by Freddie Wong Kin-yip.

While Midland's accounts are spilling red ink, Shih said Centaline's Hong Kong operation recorded a profit of HK$280 million last year - although just half the HK$560 million it earned in 2012.

People in the industry say Centaline is leading the second player by 10 percentage points. "Previously, the market share was split equally between the two groups. But the map changed last year," the sources said.

But Sammy Po Siu-ming, the chief executive of the residential department at Midland, said the market shares in the primary residential sector remained unchanged. "I do not see any change in our position," he said.