Loss-making Hong Kong home sales rise despite tentative market recovery

At least 100 secondary residential properties in Hong Kong were sold at a loss in September, according to market agents, despite signs that prices may have reached a low and begun recovering. The estimated number of loss-making transactions rose from at least 81 in August. Sales at reduced prices were recorded across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, covering both luxury and mass-market homes.

Reported losses ranged from more than 10 per cent to about 30 per cent. In Sai Kung, a flat at The Mediterranean sold for HK$8.38 million after its owner had paid HK$12.36 million in 2019, producing a loss of about 32 per cent. A house at Hebe Villa sold for HK$21 million, about 19 per cent below its 2009 purchase price.

Agents said some owners had accepted losses because they were emigrating or downsizing. Frankie Liu of Century 21 Goodwin Property said expatriate buying in Sai Kung had recovered from the low recorded between 2020 and 2021, although it remained below pre-2019 levels. Losses were also recorded in the mass-market area of Tuen Mun.

One flat sold for HK$4.6 million, leaving its owner down 17.6 per cent after three years, while another property changed hands at a loss of 28 per cent after eight years. The Rating and Valuation Department’s private residential price index rose 0.2 points to 320.5 in August. However, Ricacorp Properties said secondary transactions in Tuen Mun had fallen to about 70 in September from more than 100 in May and June.

Centaline executive Louis Chan said prices remained nearly 20 per cent below the first-half 2021 peak but forecast a 3 to 5 per cent rise for the rest of the year. Agents said there was little evidence that losses were worsening across the market.