HK foreclosures reach level of bad memories

The number of property foreclosure deals has surged to a level reminding people of the financial upheaval in 2008.

According to Centaline Property, properties being offered for sale at auction reached 209 yesterday - 11 more than last month.

The current number has also exceeded the 200 level for the first time since November 2009.

On the pattern of foreclosures, it was noted too that in 2008 the number jumped to over 300 from about 200 cases within half a year.

This came as property owners failed to keep up with their mortgage loan repayments amid price falls, so plenty of homes went on the auction block.

There were 633 homes foreclosed in 2008 and 705 in 2009.

Louis Chan Wing-kit, the Asia Pacific vice chairman of the residential division at Centaline, said the foreclosure deals might reach at least 400 if the economy keeps worsening. So Chan appealed to the administration to reduce stamp duties to boost the property market.

At the same time, the Centa-City Leading Index revealed that home prices in the secondary market have lost an average of over 10 percent of their values from the highs of last August.

But arrivals of skilled personnel from the mainland boosted rents of top-line homes in Hong Kong during the third quarter, a study by estate agency Savills shows.

Savills said luxury rents on Hong Kong Island showed 1.2-percent growth while in Kowloon and the New Territories the rises were 1.9 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.

The residential leasing report revealed too that professionals from the mainland prefer a traditional style of home, resulting in rents in Happy Valley and Jardine's Lookout climbing 3.2 percent quarter-on-quarter while in Southside there was a 1.9-percent increase.

Elsewhere, rents around Ho Man Tin and Kowloon Tong grew 2.2 percent compared with the previous quarter while in Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom the increase was 1.8 percent.