Over half of residents not keen on buying a property in Q3

Six in 10 find it a bad time to purchase a home right now.

Over half or 57% of Hong Kong residents were not keen on buying a property in Q3, with the percentage rising from 45% in Q1 2019, according to a survey commissioned by Citibank.

Only 16% of the respondents were eyeing to buy a property, declining by 4 ppt from the previous quarter.

Six in 10 of the respondents considered now to be a bad time to purchase a home, although this is 8 ppt lower than the preceding quarter. Those considering now to be a good or excellent time to buy a home accounted for only 5% of the respondents.

Still, respondents have been more bullish on the property prices, with the percentage of respondents expecting home prices in Hong Kong to rise or stabilize in the next 12 months increasing over the same period

Almost half or 46% of residents expects home prices to fall in the next 12 months in Q4, falling 10 ppt from the previous quarter.

Citibank commissioned The University of Hong Kong Social Sciences Research Centre to conduct the survey, interviewing a random sample of over 500 Hong Kong respondents by phone in October.