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Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices within touching distance of pre-protest days, could set record over next two months

  • Lived-in home prices in April were within about 1.5 per cent of a historic high recorded in May 2019, before the anti-government protests kicked off
  • Price index could climb to unprecedented 400-point mark if momentum continues into June, Ricacorp says

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The price index of lived-in homes edged up 0.4 per cent to 390.8 in April from 389.1 in March. Photo: Felix Wong
Lam Ka-sing

Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices were within touching distance of pre-protest days and could set a record over the next two months.

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In a reflection of the upwards trajectory in the city’s housing market and economy, the prices of lived-in homes extended a four-month rally in April and were at their highest since July 2019, according to Rating and Valuation Department data released on Thursday. They were also within about 1.5 per cent of a historic high recorded in May 2019, before the anti-government protests kicked off.

“If the increase in May amounts to over 1.5 per cent … [the lived-in home price index] actually can already break the record,” said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties. He added that June’s increase would definitely break the record, “if the momentum is sustained and unchanged”.

Chan was optimistic because Hong Kong has been able to control its coronavirus outbreak, its economy is recovering gradually, its gross domestic product growth has found momentum and unemployment has fallen for two straight months. The response to new projects this month has also been satisfactory.

The price index of lived-in homes edged up 0.4 per cent to 390.8 in April from 389.1 in March, and was about 1.5 per cent shy of the 396.9 recorded in May 2019. Chan said he expected the increase this month to amount to 1.5 or 1.6 per cent, which meant the index would almost break the record. And if the index rose by about 1 per cent in June, it would climb to the unprecedented 400-point mark.
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Chan’s comments echoed an earlier forecast by Centaline Property Agency, which has said home prices could break records mid this year. “The housing market entered a bull market in the second quarter – home prices may break records next month,” said Louis Chan, Asia-Pacific vice-chairman and chief executive of the residential division at Centaline. The agency expects home prices to rise 15 per cent this year.

In the primary market, the response to new launches had been satisfactory, as indicated by the success of South Land, which has been developed by Road King Infrastructure atop the Wong Chuk Hang MTR Station.
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