Hong Kong's March property sales rise to 4-month high, in a sign of improving sentiment
Hong Kong's property sales increased to the highest level in four months in March, as a resurgent
stock market and a lower tax scheme for homes spurred sentiment, according to two of the city's largest agencies.
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Sales of new and lived-in homes, shops, office units, car parking spaces and industrial properties jumped by 55 per cent to 6,657 lots, while the transaction value soared 61 per cent to HK$45.63 billion (US$5.9 billion) last month, according to estimates compiled by Midland Realty.
Ricacorp Properties estimated that 6,672 lots changed hands, 54 per cent higher than the month before.
'With favourable property market measures [announced] in the budget at the end of February and the strong performance of Hong Kong stocks in recent months, new property sales have been outstanding,' said Midland's chief analyst Buggle Lau Ka-fai.
The bullish momentum is likely to be sustainable, with the forecast for deals in April to reach 7,040 lots, Ricacorp said. That would be the highest monthly transactions since the 7,695 lots in November, the agency said.
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The revival in the city's real estate industry vindicates the stamp duty cuts announced in February by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who slashed the levy on homes worth up to HK$4 million to HK$100 from HK$60,000. The previous threshold was HK$3 million. The change could spur sales of HK$4 million flats to account for 30 per cent of private home sales, up from 25 per cent in 2024, CBRE said.
'The easing of stamp duties for properties worth HK$4 million has led to many buyers chasing small residential units,' said Ricacorp's head of research Derek Chan.
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