Hot New Launches Stir Hopes for Secondary Revival
AM730 · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago6 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s housing market entered August with conflicting signals: official registration figures remained soft, but real-time sales activity improved as developers adjusted pricing closer to market expectations. First-hand transactions rebounded after two weak months, while estate agents reported stronger weekend deals at major secondary estates toward late August. Together, the data suggest demand did not disappear over the summer but was waiting for more acceptable pricing and better timing. Analysts and agents now see September as a test of whether strong primary sales can pull the resale market out of its lull.
Key Points
- The Land Registry recorded 5,772 overall property sale and purchase registrations in August, down for a second straight month and the lowest in nearly 18 months, though agents said registrations typically lag actual market conditions by two to four weeks
- Centaline’s Chan Wing-kit (陳永傑) said first-hand sales had exceeded 1,000 deals monthly for 16 consecutive months from February last year to May this year, before dropping to about 850 in June and about 817 in July
- In August, first-hand transactions recovered to about 1,103 deals, up about 286 or 35% month on month and back above the 1,000 mark, while August first-hand private-home registrations rose 22% to 892, ending a three-month decline.
- A Kowloon project launched with a low-price strategy drew more than 58,000 expressions of interest; in its third round on Saturday, September 5, it offered 101 units and had sold 482 homes in 15 days for more than HK$4.5 billion
- Secondary-market indicators improved late in August: weekend transactions at the top 10 estates rose from three in late July to 10 on August 29-30, while 50 major estates climbed from 51 weekly deals in early August to 72 in late August
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong buyers and sellers, the gap between lagging registration data and faster frontline sales means headline weakness may understate current market activity. If competitively priced new launches keep drawing demand and unsuccessful primary buyers continue shifting to resale homes, September could bring broader improvement across both segments rather than a recovery limited to new projects.