New home transactions jump 14-fold: Midland Realty
A strategist with one of Hong Kong's biggest real estate agencies on Tuesday said new home transactions rose 14-fold month-on-month to 4,200 in March, after the city's property market cooling measures were cancelled.  Buggle Lau from Midland Realty told RTHK that this was the highest monthly figure since 1998, as the policy change released built-up purchasing power. Transactions in the secondary market at the top 10 estates rose 2.6-fold to 369 in March, Lau said. He added that there could be a slowdown in the coming month, but he believes sales in the second quarter could rise by more than 20 percent compared to the three months before. "There were about 4,900 primary market transactions in the first quarter of this year, that's more than the number seen for the same period over the past two years,” Lau said. “Looking ahead to the second quarter, we believe the total number of new home transactions could reach around 5,500 to 6,000. This is mainly because there'll be sales promotions for leftover or new units and prices will not rise significantly, in order to attract buyers." Lau also predicted that the city’s secondary market could see a rise in transactions of more than 30 percent in the second quarter, adding that if such momentum continues, price falls may slow down.