Hong Kong’s January residential sales drop 11.6% to 3,626 transactions

First-hand sales remained below 1,000.

Hong Kong home prices halted its rebound trend over the last quarter of 2024, declining by 0.65% MoM in December, recording a total annual decline of 7.1%, according to the Rating and Valuation Department.

A Knight Frank report revealed that in January, total residential sales transactions fell to 3,626, a drop of 11.6% MoM, according to the Land Registry. First-hand sales remained below 1,000 transactions, dropping by 13.4% MoM following a significant drop in December. On the contrary, the mass rental market saw a 3.9% rise in 2024, driven by demand from mainland and overseas talents.

Here’s more from Knight Frank:

Developers have been aggressively putting more new projects on the market at discounted prices, capitalising on the improving sentiment. A number of firsthand projects recorded satisfactory sales as we stepped into a fresh year.

In North Point, the newly launched State Pavilia project of New World Development offered its first price list at up to 25% lower than other new developments in the same area, making an eight-year low for the Eastern district.

The developer has sold more than 90% of the available flats at the project in just five days. In Kowloon City, the first 63 units of Eight Southpark launched by Henderson Land were priced at an average price of HK$17,400 per sq ft, approximately 10% lower than similar developments in Kai Tak.

The luxury residential segment remains stable. One of the most notable transactions in the month occurred at The Peak, where a 5,062-sq-ft house at 77 Peak Road sold for HK$501 million (or HK$98,652 per sq ft) . The luxury leasing market also shows stable movement. Notably, affluent individuals from the mainland could afford premium accommodation with monthly rents reaching up to HK$200,000. One of the most notable leasing transactions in the month involved a 5,841-sq-ft house in Shouson Hill, leased for HK$620,000 per month (or HK$106 per sq ft).

In the short term, property prices are expected to remain at their current low levels. As interest rates and inventory levels gradually decrease, coupled with an improved stock market stimulating market sentiment, we expect the property prices to begin to recover noticeably in the second half of the year. We forecast an overall annual increase of up to 5% for 2025.