Tag Archives: month-on-month
Hong Kong residential sales fell by 8% month on month in July
The volume of residential sales in Hong Kong fell 8% month on month in July after three months of growth in a row, the latest figures from the Land Registry show. Overall property prices remained stable and this was due to sustainable end user demand, according to the analysis in the latest monthly report from international real estate firm Knight Frank. It explains that the new build market, which contributed to about one third of total residential transactions in Hong Kong, is where major developers generated good sales in their recently launched projects. For example, Park Yoho Venezia in Yuen Long has sold 95% of its 62 units in its third batch of sales in July and The Ascent in Cheung Sha Wan was oversubscribed seven times and sold over 94% of its first batch of 125 units in one day. There have been some transactions in the otherwise muted land market. In one notable sale, a domestic site in Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po was sold at an accommodation value of HK$3,932 per square foot, up 19.2% from two years ago when the adjacent site was sold. However, the report points out that despite the recent pickup in sales, the surge in upcoming supply is expected to suppress growth in home prices. According to the latest data from the Transport and Housing Bureau, 93,000 new homes are to be provided in the coming three to four years. ‘Developers are expected to continue offering deep discounts and competitive mortgage schemes to attract buyers in order to offload inventory before a possible US interest rate hike in the coming months,’ the report says. ‘We maintain our forecast of luxury home prices falling 5% to 10% this year and mass residential prices dropping up to 10% over the year,’ it adds. The report also says that the Grade A office market in Hong Kong remained subdued in July as many large financial institutions continued to downsize which had a negative effect on leasing demand. This means that medium sized firms are using it as an opportunity to take up space released by multinational corporations and Knight Frank expects this trend to continue. By the end of the year Knight Frank expects central office rents to increase but in decentralised areas, such as Kowloon East, there is likely to be rental pressure due to increasing upcoming supply. Continue reading
First time buyer lending in UK up by 25% in June compared to a year ago
There was a growth in the home lending market in the UK in June with the first time buyer market seeing a particular boost in activity, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Home owners borrowed £12.3 billion, up 29% month on month and 12% year on year. They took out 68,200 loans, up 26% on May and 8% on June 2015. First time buyers borrowed £5.5 billion, up 28% on May and 25% on June last year. This equated to 34,300 loans, up 24% month on month and 17% year on year. Home movers borrowed £6.9 billion, up 33% on May and up 5% compared to a year ago. This represented 33,900 loans, up 28% month on month and up 0.3% on June 2015. Remortgage activity totalled £5.6 billion, up 8% on May and 6% compared to a year ago. This came to 32,400 loans, up 4% month on month but down 2% compared to a year ago. Landlords borrowed £2.9 billion, up 12% month on month but down 15% year on year. This came to 18,300 loans in total, up 8% compared to May and 17% compared to June 2015. On an unadjusted basis in the second quarter of the year home owners borrowed £30 billion, down 2% quarter on quarter and 7% year on year. They took out 169,600 loans, up 4% on the first quarter and 3% on the same quarter in 2015. First time buyers borrowed £13.7 billion, up 23% on the first quarter of the year and up 21% on the same quarter in 2015. This equated to 87,100 loans, up 23% month on month and 14% year on year. Home movers borrowed £16.4 billion, down 16% on first quarter and 2% compared to a year ago. This represented 82,600 loans, down 10% quarter on quarter and 6% on the second quarter 2015. Remortgage activity totalled £16.9 billion, up 10% on the first quarter and 25% compared to a year ago. This came to 98,700 loans, up 10% quarter on quarter and 17% compared to a year ago. Landlords borrowed £8 billion, down 46% compared to the first quarter of the year and down 9% year on year. This came to 51,600 loans in total, a drop of 45% compared to the first quarter and down 11% year on year compared to the second quarter of 2015. The CML now publishes seasonally adjusted monthly and quarterly data (see attached), alongside the normal unadjusted data. Paul Smee, CML director general said that this makes it easier to spot underlying trends. ‘These figures reveal growth in house purchase activity and in particular for first- time buyers. As ever, there is uncertainty and it will take more time and patience to understand how the market will evolve in the current environment as these figures predominantly cover activity in the run up to the referendum,’ he explained. ‘We still believe that the mortgage market is well capitalised, resilient… Continue reading
