Home prices fall again, rents hit near 5-year highs
Official figures showed home prices in Hong Kong continued to fall last month, whereas rents reached their highest in nearly five years. According to data from the Rating and Valuation Department, private flats were 1.9 percent cheaper in July than the month before, marking the third consecutive month of decline. Home prices briefly rose after the government scrapped all market-cooling measures in February, before the downward trend resumed in May. For the first seven months of 2024, prices were down by 4.7 percent year on year. Analysts have said sales may pick up after interest rates start to fall, with the US Federal Reserve indicating that it will begin reducing borrowing costs in September. Meanwhile, strong demand pushed rents up by 1.1 percent last month from June. That raised private sector rents to their highest levels since October 2019.