Approved mortgage loans rally 9% to $44.3b in July

This comes from a mild 4.8% growth in June.

The volume of approved mortgage loans picked up at a faster pace from 4.8% in June to 9% in July at $44.3b, according to a statement from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. 

However, the number of mortgage applications dipped 2.5% MoM to 14,217 which corresponds with the lower number of home sales during that period. Residential property sales in July fell 9% MoM to 6,093 sold units in July as potential buyers held back purchases to see the full market impact of the government's cooling measures.

Also read: Half of Hong Kong residents uninterested in buying property

In a breakdown, mortgage loans financing primary market transactions surged 41.8% to $8b whilst those financing secondary market transactions edged down by 1.1% to $23.8b. Mortgage loans for refinancing increased by 14.6% to $12.5b.

The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to HIBOR increased from 89.7% in June to 94.5% in July whilst the ratio of new mortgage loans priced at fixed rates fell from 5.2% to 0.3% on an MoM basis. 

The outstanding value of mortgage loans inched up by 0.7% MoM to $1,266.9b at end-July with a mortgage delinquency ratio of 0.02% and the rescheduled loan ratio remaning unchanged at nearly 0%.