Hong Kong’s January home prices advance, take a breather from five-month decline
- The overall price index of used homes rose by 0.08 per cent to 359.5 in January
- The price index had declined by 9.2 per cent from August to December last year
Hong Kong home prices took a breather in January from a five-month drop, vindicating forecasts by some analysts that transaction values could reverse some of last year’s 9.2 per cent decline.
The overall price index of pre-owned homes rose by less than a tenth of a percentage point to 359.5 last month, after having dropped by 9.2 per cent from August to December, according to data by the city’s Rating and Valuation Department.
S&P Global Ratings joined analysts from Japanese investment bank Nomura in saying growth in home prices would sustain and amount to 5 per cent this year.
“Pressure from more interest rate hikes in Hong Kong has eased following the US Federal Reserve’s lightened position. In addition, Hong Kong’s monetary base, a key pillar supporting house prices, has bounced back,” said Esther Liu, credit analyst at S&P. “Transaction volume has already shown early signs of recovery, with strong underlying demand.”
Local agency Ricacorp Properties said on Thursday the increase in coming months would widen by 0.5-1 per cent.
Thomas Lam, executive director of Knight Frank, however remained cautious, and said it was “still early” to tell whether home prices were recovering.