Property sales crashed 32.4% in January

Residential units showed the greatest decline, with sales plunging by 39.2%.

Hong Kong’s property sales slid 32.4% YoY and 3.4% MoM to 3,776 sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) for all building units for registration in January, according to data from the Land Registry.

As a result, the overall sales value plunged 59.7% YoY, or 17.1% MoM, to $29b in the same month.

By section, residential properties led the declines at 2,762 SPAs, which fell by 39.2% YoY in January from its January 2019 figures. Total consideration hit $24.8b, down 44.8% over the same period.

The Land Registry added that there were 342,191 land register searches in January.

The Transport & Housing Bureau recorded 10,000 unsold units in completed projects by end-December last year. There were 61,000 units under construction (excluding those pre-sold by developers) and 22,000 units from disposed sites where construction may start at a later date.

The number of flats under construction in Q4 2019 was 4,000, whilst the number of units completed for the period is 3,500 units.

The supply pipeline for private flats in the next three to four years is 93,000 units, unchanged from the Bureau’s previous estimate.