With the resumption of customs clearance between Hong Kong and the Mainland earlier this year, both the economy and the property market are on the road to recovery. The Centaline City Leading Index (CCL), which reflects secondary property prices in Hong Kong, has risen by more than 6% year-on-year, and with interest rates nearing their peak, even affordable silver properties have become a hot commodity.

Centaline Property Asia Pacific Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Residential Division, Mr. Chan Wing Kit, said that over 120 silver properties have been absorbed in the past four months, representing a year-on-year surge of more than double.

According to Centaline Property, in the first four months of this year, the number of silver properties sold in Hong Kong has increased to approximately 126, which is more than double the number of transactions in the same period last year (61) and more than 70% of the total number of silver properties sold in 2022 (176).

In the first quarter of this year alone, 115 or 91% of the total number of transactions were completed, which is nearly double the number of transactions in the fourth quarter of last year (39).

February was the peak month for silver properties, with 49 transactions, the highest in the past 13 years since March 2010 when 51 transactions were recorded, resulting in a large number of affordable silver properties being absorbed.

The number of affordable silver properties was absorbed, and the price of silver properties became more and more expensive after the customs clearance. A recent sale of a silver master property in the new HOS flat in Tung Chung, Yue Tai Court, which has been occupied for less than three years, was recorded.

According to Centaline Property's Senior Senior Divisional Sales Manager, Mr Tsang Hin-yip, the property is a mid-rise unit in Block B, with a saleable area of 427 square feet and a view of the mountains.

The original owner bought the property first-hand from the HA at the end of 2020 for about $2.02 million, and its value has appreciated by more than 60% in two years.

According to Tsang Hin Yip, as Yu Tai Court has not yet passed the 3-year SSD period, second-hand offers are rare, so the above-mentioned silver master property has attracted about 4 to 5 groups of customers to compete for it.

In the same area, a silver master property in the lower level of Block 7 of Shui Lan‧Sky Coast, with a saleable area of 749 square feet, was originally priced at $10.3 million, but eventually sold for $10.538 million, an increase of over $200,000 or nearly 2%.

Another property in Kai Tak, OASIS KAI TAK Block 5, Room B, a 534 sq ft property owned by a finance company, was sold for $11,580,000 at $21,685 per sq ft after being on the market for only about a month.

With the rebound in property prices, the number of bankers' properties has also slowed down recently, with the number of transactions falling to around 32 and 11 in March and April respectively.

A new luxury property in Clearwater Bay, Aulong, is now available for sale at $47 million to a group of silver-owning tenants.

A new luxury property in Clearwater Bay, Aulong, was offered for sale with an existing silver-owning tenant asking $47 million.

Of the 219 units for sale, 173 or 79% are residential units, with Sai Kung (including Tseung Kwan O) accounting for the largest 19 units. The largest unit in the district is a penthouse with a rooftop feature in Clearwater Bay, with a saleable area of 1,837 square feet and a four-room flat.

Shatin is the second most popular district with 16 properties, while Yau Tsim Mong and Tuen Mun are the third with 15 properties each. Kwun Tong and Wanchai had the least number of properties, with only three each.

There are many cases of semi-new properties in the recent repossessions by bankers. For example, an open-plan flat with a saleable area of 198 sq ft in Block 2, Leo Place, Tai Kok Tsui, has been taken over by a bank owner and put up for sale at $4.2 million, at $21,212 per square foot.

Chan Wing-kit said, the US Federal Reserve announced a 0.25% interest rate hike yesterday, suggesting that the current round of interest rate hikes may come to an end for the time being, with interest rates peaking and the economy recovering, the number of bankers' properties will fall further, with a chance of returning to the double-digit level before the end of the year.

Property prices have rebounded by more than 6% this year and the number of negative equity cases has fallen. The overall stock of bank-owned properties has now fallen to around 219, down nearly 10% from a high of around 239 in December last year. He estimates that property prices could rise by up to 15% for the year as a whole.