Divisions grow as analysts debate Hong Kong property outlook
Confidence in Hong Kong remains generally upbeat, even as the mood among property investors globally is growing more cautions
Hong Kong property analysts are divided on the outlook for the local property market, as international property investors express concern over excessive prices and deteriorating market stability worldwide.
More than 60 per cent of global real estate investors ranked an asset price bubble and the risk of a sharp correction as their top concerns, according to a survey released Tuesday at an annual conference in Singapore organised by the Asian Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles (ANREV). The survey was conducted at the beginning of November.
But analysts say such concerns are not slowing investment in the Hong Kong property market.
The city has been ranked the world’s least affordable to buy a home for the seventh year running, according to the 2017 Demographia Housing Affordability Survey, with flats on average costing more than 18 times annual median income.
Commercial property prices are also on the rise, as Central district remains the world’s most expensive to rent a prime office. Grade A office rents rose 2.9 per cent from the beginning of the year to September, reflecting their highest level in a decade, according to the SCMP-JLL Grade A Office Rental Index, tracking 123 office buildings.