Latest news with #RicacorpProperties
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong homebuyers flock to latest Sierra Sea units as mortgage rates ease
Emboldened by lower mortgage rates, Hong Kong homebuyers on Saturday purchased all 216 of the new units offered at Sun Hung Kai Properties ' Sierra Sea project in Sai Sha in the New Territories. All units found buyers within six hours of the sale, which began at 10am, according to agents. Another 25 units were available via tender. Earlier this week, the one-month Hong Kong interbank offered rate (Hibor), which is linked to mortgage loans, fell below 1 per cent for the first time since July 2022. On Friday, the one-month Hibor settled at 0.58964, according to the Hong Kong Association of Banks. 'Benefiting from a decline in the one-month Hibor, mortgage burdens have eased,' said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. The lower Hibor was attributed to higher liquidity entering the city's capital markets as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority began intervening in the currency market. Hong Kong pegged its dollar to the American currency in 1983, and in 2005 it instituted a trading band of HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar. The HKMA intervenes in the open market when the local currency is expected to trade beyond its band.
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's April property deals jump to 5-month high as buyers dived in on stamp duty cut
Hong Kong's property transactions surged to a five-month high in April, as a cut in the government's stamp duty spurred more buyers to dive into the market and helped developers like Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) to report brisk sales. Advertisement The value of real estate sales rose 9.8 per cent last month to HK$50.1 billion (US$6.46 billion) involving 7,229 new homes, lived-in abodes, offices, shops, car parking slots and industrial spaces, according to the Land Registry. The number of deals, which grew 8.5 per cent from March, was the highest since November 2024, when 7,689 deals valued at HK$64.1 billion were done, the data showed. The strong data 'primarily reflected the actual market conditions from late March to early April, [when] purchasing power in the secondary residential market was boosted by the reduction of stamp duty to HK$100 for properties priced under HK$4 million', said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. Residential property buyers turned up in droves last month, helping developers and owners sell 5,694 homes, for the highest monthly tally since November's 6,298 units, the data showed. SHKP was one such developer, selling every flat of the 318 units it released on April 26 at Sierra Sea in the New Territories. The project comprises 9,700 homes, making it Hong Kong's single largest property project in about three decades. People at a shopping centre in Kai Tak with the public housing estate in the background on April 24, 2025. Photo: Jelly Tse Discounts helped attract buyers. The first batch of Sierra Sea was offered at an average price of HK$10,877 per square foot after discounts, about 20 per cent cheaper than lived-in homes in the same neighbourhood, according to Midland Realty.
South China Morning Post
02-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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.
South China Morning Post
27-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's home prices fall towards decade low on interest rate, tariff headwinds
Home prices in Hong Kong's secondary property market dropped for a third straight month in February to near the lowest in a decade amid concerns about slower cuts in interest rates and heightened tensions in global trade stoked by extra US tariffs on foreign goods. Advertisement Lived-in home prices retreated 0.9 per cent in February from the preceding month to the lowest since July 2016, according to an index compiled by the Rating and Valuation Department. Prices have declined every month since January 2022 versus year-earlier levels - a cumulative drop of 27 per cent, the data showed. The trend suggests bolder measures may be needed to boost confidence among homebuyers and shore up demand. Official efforts in October to ease mortgage financing rules have produced a short-lived bounce as a new round of trade hostilities erupted last month. Chances of further interest-rate cuts have diminished amid renewed worries about inflation. The latest data 'reflects the sluggish Lunar New Year market in late January and early February, coupled with uncertainties stemming from the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady,' said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. Fresh tariffs on Chinese goods, following President Donald Trump's inauguration in late January, also softened market sentiment, he added. The Fed and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have kept their key rates on hold in the past two policy meetings, after cutting it three times from September to December last year. Gains in stock prices and government incentives in the form of lower stamp duties on property transactions could help stabilise demand at current levels, according to Eddie Kwok, executive director of valuation and advisory services at CBRE Hong Kong. Prices, however, may struggle to appreciate, he added. Advertisement 'We see residential prices bottoming out,' Kwok said. 'However, as developers are pushing units [in new launches] to capture pent up demand, it might be difficult to record a strong rebound.' Any upside in home prices may be seen in the primary housing market, he added.
