Buyer Stamp Duty cases drop to 266 in August

Yielded amount also fell to HK$568m.

The Stamp Duty Office has said that the number of transactions involving the payment of the Buyer Stamp Duty (BSD) dropped from 370 cases in July 2014 to 266 cases in August 2014.

According to a research report from Barclays, the amount involved also declined from HK$904mn to HK$568mn, suggesting an average HK$2.14mn/case.

Over the last six months, the number of BSD cases has declined from 1,827 units in March and 2,139 cases in April to the current lower level as new project launches have mostly targeted mass market local buyers.

As for the Special Stamp Duty (SSD), the report said the number of cases rose slightly from 36 in July 2014 to 38 in August 2014 but remains near a two year low.

On a cumulative basis, since the enactment of the BSD and SSD, the total amount of duty triggered is now at HK$8.27bn and HK$718mn respectively.