As at 11 August 2023, the total number of sale and purchase agreements for August 2023 (including residential units, car parks and commercial and industrial properties) provisionally recorded 2,000, with a total value of $12.934 billion, according to Yang Mingyi, Senior Associate Director of Research at Centaline Property. It is estimated that the total number of sale and purchase agreements for the month will be around 4,200 and $29 billion respectively, representing a decrease of 5.1% and 12.0% from 4,426 and $32,967 million in July.
Both the number and value of cases are expected to reach eight-month lows since December 2022, when they reached 3,565 cases and $25.871 billion. Reflecting the relaxation of property mortgage by the Hong Kong government in early July but the interest rate hike of 0.125% by major banks at the end of July, the market is in a wait-and-see mood, and the overall transaction volume continues to be sluggish.
As for first-hand private residential properties, as at 11 August, 296 cases and $3.41 billion were recorded in August. It is estimated that there will be about 450 cases and $5 billion in the whole month, representing a drop of 45.1% and 45.5% respectively from 819 cases and $9.18 billion in July. The number of transactions is estimated to be at a seven-month low since January 2023, and the value at an eight-month low since December 2022. The lack of major new developments in the market during July has affected the first-hand transactions significantly.
However, the popularity of Yau Tong's new development Oceanside Station II in August is expected to push up the number of registrations in September. In the first eight months of this year, 7,425 first-hand units were registered, which is forecast to be around 13,000 in 2023, only slightly higher than the 10,261 registered in 2022, and the second lowest level in the past 10 years after the 9,753 registered in 2013," said the spokesperson of the Hong Kong Housing Society.
The new development with the highest number of registrations in August was Metro I in Yuen Long, with 68 registrations and $396 million. Henley Park in Kai Tak recorded 64 cases and $672 million. Wong Chuk Hang Station, Hong Kong Island South Coast Phase 4, Pinnacle Hill, recorded 45 cases and $920 million for the time being.
As for second-hand private residential properties, as at 11 August, 961 cases and $6.65 billion were recorded in August. It is estimated that there will be around 2,200 cases and $16 billion in the whole month, representing an increase of 5.8% and a decrease of 6.4% respectively compared with the 2,079 cases and $17.09 billion recorded in July.
The saw-saw situation in the second-hand market continued, with the number of transactions hovering at a low of 2,000. In the first eight months of this year, 21,174 second-hand sales were recorded, and it is forecasted that there will be about 32,000 sales in 2023, which is similar to the 31,802 sales in 2022, and is expected to be the second lowest in the 28-year history of the market since 1996 when records were first kept.
For large-scale housing estates, in August, Kingswood Villas temporarily recorded 10 cases (totalling $52 million), Mei Foo Sun Chuen temporarily recorded 10 cases (totalling $75 million), City One Shatin temporarily recorded 6 cases (totalling $38 million) and Taikoo Shing temporarily recorded 3 cases (totalling $32 million).
