The notorious title of “liquidation center” halts the property price to rise

Since the withdrawal of the cooling measures, the transaction volume of first-hand and second-hand properties has rebounded significantly, but the property prices have not increased at the same time. The transaction volume of first-hand properties increased in March to about 4,100 cases, but the prices fell despite the increase in volume. Nowadays, most of the first-hand properties are sold at the same prices of secondary properties in the same area. Consequently, many first-hand properties’ buyers are from the potential purchasers of secondary properties. The second-hand properties transaction volume has increased significantly, however, more than 30% of them recorded the loss. The removal of the cooling measures had caused the property transaction volume surging , but the price came to a standstill.  Last April, the price and volume rose together due to the reopening of borders with Mainland.

Until recently, Hong Kong was teased by a nickname of the archaeological site of financial center. Hong Kong is now also known as the “liquidation center” of small enterprises. The decline of the financial center's status theoretically only affected the investment returns of some high-end investors, but the chain of closures of small and medium-sized enterprises reflected the deteriorating business environment. The foreign direct investment has been decreasing and the multi-international enterprises are difficult to raise funds for large-scale development. However, the closures of retail shops, supermarkets and other small companies will eventually destroy the job market. The profits of large enterprises continue to decline, and micro businesses go bankruptcy one after another. In such a situation, the property prices are unable to rise.

The cancellation the cooling measures has triggered the rebound of transaction volume, which has saved developers and real estate agents who are on the verge of bankruptcy. For the government, an orderly reduction in property prices is its governance vision. Low property prices reduce the cost of business, which is an effective way to strengthen local competitiveness. If local business costs do not fall, the cross-border consumption will never be stopped. 

After one month of withdrawal of the cooling measures, the transaction volume of first-hand and second-hand properties has increased notably, but the property prices do not rise accordingly. In April, except for the initial two batches’ units of “Blue Coast”, it can be sold out within the first day of opening sales on this Saturday. For the other upcoming first-hand flats, it is estimated that it will be difficult to sell all the units on the first day of public sale. Recently, many second batch of first-hand properties did not have a good sales record. It is evident that the purchasing power has been consuming to a lower level.