According to data, the top ten housing estates of a major property agency recorded five transactions this weekend, marking a 66.7% increase from the three transactions last weekend. The three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday saw a total of ten transactions. The agency's Vice Chairman and Residential Chief for Asia Pacific noted that overall market sentiment remains positive, and the fine weather this weekend encouraged active property viewings by potential buyers. However, many residents traveled during the long holiday, coinciding with the World Cup, and many attractive listings have been absorbed by the market, leading to a shortage of available properties. Sellers are also narrowing their room for negotiation, increasing the difficulty for buyers to enter the market and causing a slight slowdown in secondary market activity.
The recent U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, as expected, kept interest rates unchanged, and Hong Kong's prime rate followed suit. The ongoing low-interest-rate environment and positive property market sentiment continue to drive purchasing power. However, market attention is focused on primary market developments, with new projects drawing demand away, causing secondary market transactions to fluctuate at low levels.
Statistics from another major property agency indicate that the recent long weekend encompassing the Dragon Boat and Father's Day holidays (June 19-21) saw approximately ten transactions across ten key secondary market housing estates. Considering only Saturday and Sunday (June 20-21), there were about six transactions, a roughly 50% increase from the approximately four transactions the previous weekend, yet marking the third consecutive weekend with single-digit figures. When calculated across 15 major estates, the long weekend recorded about 16 transactions, with approximately ten occurring over Saturday and Sunday alone, representing an increase of about 42.9% from the prior weekend.
A senior director at the agency commented that while no major new project launches occurred over the past weekend, several new developments are preparing to enter the market shortly. Consequently, primary market offerings continue to dominate market focus and purchasing power. Concurrently, as many attractive secondary listings have been absorbed, sellers of existing properties are becoming firmer on their asking prices alongside aggressive pricing from new projects, leading to a recent slight deceleration in secondary market transactions. The past weekend also coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend, with some sellers and potential buyers traveling, further impeding activity in the secondary housing estate market. Transactions in key indicator estates only showed a modest increase from the low levels of the previous weekend.
Nevertheless, the persistent low-interest-rate environment and strong public willingness to enter the property market mean that as more purchasing power is unleashed, property prices will continue to find support and maintain their upward trajectory.