Hibor at 16-year high as property deals slide

Hong Kong interbank offered rates rose across the board yesterday with both the one-month and three-month rates reaching new highs in nearly 16 years.

The mortgage-related one-month Hibor has risen for six consecutive trading days, increasing by nearly 12 basis points to approximately 5.43 percent yesterday, reaching its highest level since October 2007.

And the three-month Hibor, which reflects the funding costs for local banks, has risen for three consecutive days, increasing by 12 basis points to 5.431 percent, also its highest level in nearly 16 years.

Meanwhile, the total value of sale and purchase agreements for residential units received for registration last month fell significantly by 21.5 percent to HK$26.6 billion, as compared to the same month in the previous year, the Land Registry said. The total was also nearly 21 percent lower than June's.

The number of residential deals also fell to 3,065, down 15.2 percent from June and a 16.5 percent year-on-year.

While home transactions remained sluggish, the number of licensed real estate agents has also been also declining for four consecutive months, with a cumulative decline of 461 agents, representing a decrease of over 1 percent.

There were 40,613 licensed agents as of end-July, marking a new low in over two-and-a-half years, according to the Estate Agents Authority.

In the primary market, Henderson Land Development (0012) said the 84 flats at Baker Circle Greenwich in Hung Hom were four times oversubscribed after collecting 420 checks.

The 84 flats listed in the second price list will be offered at a discounted average price of HK$18,946 per square foot.

The sales brochure is expected to be uploaded within the week and the sales are anticipated to take place next week at the earliest.

In other news, Centaline Property said the rental market has been more active than the sales market for 25 consecutive months.

Last month, the number of rental transactions it handled hit a record 3,100 deals and nearly three times the number of sales deals.

In the first seven months, Centaline handled over 15,000 rental transactions, which is around 70 percent more than the 8,800-odd sale deals it had during the same period last year.