Hong Kong luxury home prices expected to stay flat next year amid protest fears, says Knight Frank
- Prime property prices in Singapore and Sydney expected to rise by 3 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, according to a Knight Frank report
- Luxury home prices rose 1.1 per cent in the year to the end of September, the slowest pace in a decade, as global geopolitical uncertainties and economic worries kept investors on the sidelines.
Hong Kong is the only major city in Asia that will not see any growth in luxury home prices next year, as investors stay on the sidelines until the months-long anti-government protests end, after having risen by about 40 per cent in the 10 years to 2018, Knight Frank said.
“Against a tumultuous political backdrop, we expect Hong Kong’s luxury segment to see largely static prime prices in 2020,” according to a report by the consultancy that tracks 45 major cities worldwide.
However, prime property prices in Singapore and Sydney will rise by 3 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.
The report also found that luxury home prices, which refer to top 5 per cent of most expensive homes, rose at their slowest pace in a decade – 1.1 per cent – in the year to the end of September, as global geopolitical uncertainties and economic worries kept investors on the sidelines.
“From the interminably tedious Brexit negotiations to the US-China trade tensions, Hong Kong protests and climate change, the level of uncertainty ramped up a gear in 2019,” the report said.
Buggle Lau Kai-fai, chief analyst at Midland Realty, said that Hong Kong’s property market has been on a roller-coaster ride this year.