Hong Kong home prices rose 2.78 per cent in September in sign of accelerating market recovery
Prices now just 3.46pc lower than their peak in September 2015
Hong Kong home prices rose 2.78 per cent in September from August, their highest month-to-month growth rate since the market recovery began in earnest in April.
The Rating and Valuation Department’s monthly price index for private homes was at 295.5 in September, the sixth consecutive monthly increase, bringing the cumulative rise to 8.88 per cent.
September’s gain compared with 1.91 per cent growth in August and July’s 1.9 per cent growth, as local buyers regained confidence in the market and more capital flowed into the Hong Kong residential market as the yuan continued to devalue and mainland authorities introduced domestic buying curbs.
Home prices are now 3.46 per cent below their peak in September last year, according to government data. Meanwhile, the rental index in September rose 0.84 per cent month on month .
With prices rising, the incidence of negative equity – when the market value of a property falls below the outstanding mortgage secured on it – is falling sharply.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said the number of negative equity cases fell 94.7 per cent to 69 cases at the end of September 2016, compared with 1,307 cases at the end of June of this year.
The total value of residential mortgage loans in negative equity decreased to HK$282 million by the end of September compared with HK$4.45 billion as of end June, according to the HKMA’s latest survey results released on Monday.