Influenced by interest rate hikes and stock market volatility, Hong Kong property prices have been blocked. Rating and Valuation Department today (28th) announced that the May private residential property price index reported 351 points, down 0.74% month-on-month, ending the past four months of upward trend. The first five months of this year, Hong Kong property prices narrowed to 4.9%.

As for last month's private residential property price index and September 2021's record high of 398.1 points, about 11.8% lower.

By household type, small and medium-sized units with saleable area below 1,075 square feet (categories A, B and C) were reported at 352.4 points last month, down 0.76% month-on-month, while large units with saleable area above 1,076 square feet (categories D and E) were reported at 311.4 points, down 0.73% month-on-month.

When broken down by household type, all of them reported declines. Class A (431 sq ft or less) was down the most at 383 points, down 0.8% month-over-month, followed by Class B (431 to 752 sq ft) and Class D (1,076 to 1,721 sq ft), down 0.76% month-over-month. Class E units (1,722 square feet or more) recorded less than 20 transactions at 309.6 points, down 0.48% month-over-month.

In addition, rents continued to rise, with the private residential rent index rebounding to 180 points in May at 180.6 points, up 0.95% month-on-month, having risen for four consecutive months and reaching a 16-month high. The first five months of the year saw a cumulative rental increase of 2.91%. As the traditional summer rental season is approaching, rents are expected to continue to rise, driven by demand.