Residential sales slump 33pc

Residential property sales in Hong Kong last month slumped over 33 percent month on month and halved from a year ago, according to the Land Registry.

The total value of traded residential homes in February was HK$29.5 billion, a 33.7 percent fall from the previous month and a year-on-year plunge of 48.2 percent.

The Land Registry also received fewer sales and purchase agreements of residential units with 2,912 cases in February, 32.4 percent less than last January, and 52.5 percent less over the same period in 2021.

The number of commercial and industrial property registrations also decreased last month amid the worsening fifth wave of the Covid pandemic.

According to Midland Realty, the number of such property registrations in February was 427, down 19.3 percent from January and a 16-month low since October 2020, while the amount involved was about HK$4.83 billion, a sharp drop of 47.8 percent month-on-month.

Meanwhile, landlords may face a double loss of losing rental income while have to pay bank mortgage interest at the same time if the proposed ban from chasing tenants for unpaid rents comes into effect, said the Real Estate Developers Association.

Reda chairman Leung Chi-kin said the property owners might fail to claim back the loss if the tenants stop the lease after the three-month ban, especially since the government did not mention how to compensate the landlords.