(By Yan Lunle)
Although the China-US trade negotiations have reached the first trade deal, the second-hand transaction volume over the past two days continued to be up and down in low level due to the factors of dull property market nearing the end of the year, continued turmoil in Hong Kong, and variety of preferential in first-hand property, etc. According to statistics from Centaline Property and Midland Real Estate, the transactions in ten leading housing estates both recorded 6 cases, which have been at the single-digit level for 6 weeks. About low transactions, the President of Ricacorp Properties, Liao Wai-keung frankly says that most of the owners refuse to reduce prices under multiple internal and external positive factors, thus it is difficult to attract buyers to get into the market.
The APAC Vice President and Residential Department President of Centaline Property, Chen Wing-kit expresses that house visiting activities decrease as the coming of Christmas and New Year holidays. Although there was a preliminary solution to the China-US trade war last week, which increased buyers’ confidence in entering the market, the social atmosphere has not recovered, plus the second-hand favorable houses have been sold early and there are multiply discounts for the first-hand property inventory, thus the purchasing power flows to the first-hand property market while the second-hand property trading maintains inactive. According to the company’s statistics of transactions in ten leading housing estates in the past two days, there were 6 cases, although it was an increase from 3 cases in the previous weekend, there were still 6 housing estates with zero transaction, and transaction volume has been in single-digit level for 6 weeks.
The wait and see atmosphere increases at the end of the year.
The Chief Executive of the Midland Real Estate Residential Department, Po Siuming points out that the first phase of the agreement reached in the trade war and the signs of easing of local political situation make the market sentiment gradually return to normal, and HSI(Hang Seng Index) returning back to 27,000 points last week preliminarily reflects negative emotion begins to dissipate, also the property market is benefited, leading the house visiting activities to rise. The wait-and-see atmosphere of the market increases at the end of the year before many first-hand projects being launched soon, and there is no breakthrough in second-hand property trading.
According to the statistics of Midland Real Estate Branch, in the past two days, the transactions in the top ten second-hand blue-chip housing estates were recorded of 6 cases, with no weekly ups and downs, and the number has been in single-digit level for six consecutive weekends. Po Siuming expects the second-hand property transactions to rise after Christmas and New Year.
The President of Ricacorp Properties, Liao Wai-keung expresses, most owners refuse to reduce prices under positive factors such as the first phase of the trade deal reached in the trade war, the federal reserve deciding to leave interest rates unchanged, and the stock market improving, etc., thus it is difficult to attract buyers into the market. Under the strong wait-and-see atmosphere, the stalemate between buyers and sellers gradually appears. Based on the company's branch network data, ten leading housing estates in the past two days have recorded the second-hand property transactions in 4 cases, 1 or 20% lower than last week, and it not only has been in single-digital level for six weekends but also the new low in the past ten weekends.
Another agency Hong Kong Property recorded the transactions in ten leading housing estates in the past two days of 3 cases, down 40% weekly from about 5 cases on the previous weekend.
The three-bedroom unit in Yuet Lai Court hits the new high this year.
The market sentiment has slightly recovered, and individual housing estates recorded new high transactions on the weekend. The market source points out that low-rise room B of block A of HOS project Yueli Court, Lai King, which is a three-bedroom unit in 520 sq ft, just sold for HKD6.35 million in free market (land premium is paid), hitting the new high in the project, with the sq ft price at HKD12,212. The original owner bought it at HKD4.33 million in October 2015 at a free-market price, earning book profit of HKD2.02 million or 47%.
However, as the market confidence in the market outlook remains doubtful, there are also housing units being sold at low prices. Low Kang-Ho from Centaline points out that middle-rise room D which is a two-bedroom unit in 519 sq ft in block 26 of South Horizons, Ap Lei Chau, was sold for HKD8.25 million, with the sq ft price at HKD15,896, the first time for two-bedroom units to fall under HKD16,000 in the past two months. The original owner bought it for HKD7.3 million in November 2016, earning book profit of HKD0.95 million or 13%.
