The property market has remained weak this year, leading to a decline in property prices. According to the Centa-City Leading Index (CCL) reflecting the performance of second-hand property prices, the latest report shows the index at 155.18 points, representing a 1.17% decrease from the previous week.

This week, the CCL's seven major indices have fallen to the lowest level this year and are approaching a new low since 2017.

Yang Mingyi, Senior Associate Director at the research department of Centaline Property, pointed out that the CCL index has erased all the gains made this year, temporarily falling by 1.01%, and has dropped by 7.85% compared to its high point in April.

Furthermore, the CCL index has also dropped by 0.76% from the low point of 156.37 points in December 2022, marking a new low in nearly 6.5 years, reaching the level of late April 2017.

Before the policy address is released, the market expects some policy adjustments, prompting some buyers to enter the market in search of low-priced properties. While there has been a slight increase in the transaction volume of second-hand properties, overall property prices continue to slide.

Yang Mingyi pointed out that the CCL index is currently only 7.18 points or 4.63% away from the target of 148 points for the fourth quarter. The impact of the policy address on the Hong Kong property market next Wednesday will gradually be reflected in the CCL index to be released in mid-November.

The market expects the government to respond to calls for property market regulation. Coupled with the long weekend coinciding with the Chongyang Festival, many citizens have been actively arranging property viewings before the policy address, leading to an increase in the number of property viewing appointments over the weekend.

According to data from Midland Realty, a total of 301 property viewing appointments were made for 15 designated housing estates last weekend (October 21-22), an increase of approximately 6% from 284 appointments the previous weekend. This marks the second consecutive week of increased property viewings.

Additionally, during the three-day long weekend of the Chongyang Festival, a total of approximately 423 property viewing appointments were recorded.

Data from Centaline Property also shows an increase in property viewings. According to their statistics, the property viewing appointments for the top ten housing estates over the past weekend reached 402, an increase of 13 appointments from the previous week, representing a 3.3% increase. This is the first time since 16 weeks ago (June 30) that the level has exceeded 400 appointments.