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Hong Kong property
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Hong Kong’s March price index for lived-in homes advances to 20-month high as property buyers return in droves to the market

  • The price index for lived-in homes advanced by 0.8 per cent in March to 388.3, the highest since July 2019, according to figures from the Rating and Valuation Department on Wednesday
  • Apartments measuring at least 160 square metres (1,722 square feet) have outperformed the market

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Buyers lining up at the sales office of CK Asset’s Sea To Sky project in Lohas Park at the developer’s sales office at the Metropolis in Hung Hom on March 6, 2021. Photo: Dickson Lee
Sandy Li

Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices rose to a 20-month high in March with luxury flats recorded the sharpest growth as cash-rich investors and buyers turned bullish towards the outlook of the city’s property market.

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The price index for lived-in homes advanced by 0.8 per cent in March to 388.3, the highest since July 2019, according to figures from the Rating and Valuation Department on Wednesday.

“The increase is driven by [demand for] luxury homes,” said Thomas Lam, executive director at Knight Frank.

Apartments measuring at least 160 square metres (1,722 square feet) have outperformed the market, with the average price rising 3.6 per cent in March compared with a month earlier. The price for flats measuring between 70 and 100 square metres rose 1.6 per cent while the smallest units smaller than 40 sq metres were the least in demand, with prices edging up by 0.9 per cent, according to the data.

Wealthy buyers, mostly comprising mainland Chinese who have obtained residency status in Hong Kong, forked out HK$4.1 billion (US$528 million) buying villas in the primary and secondary markets last month, up 158 per cent from HK$1.6 billion in February, according to data from Centaline Property Agency.
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“Owners have reduced the room for negotiations and some even marked up their asking prices after seeing a fall in confirmed Covid-19 cases from late March,” said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. “Further relaxation of social distancing measures will lift market sentiment.”

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