Home prices fall to 7-year low, rents continue to rise
Home prices reached a seven-year low in November after a seventh consecutive monthly fall, according to government data released on Wednesday. Figures from the Rating and Valuation Department showed that prices of private flats dropped by 2 percent from October to November. Despite the removal of some property cooling measures by the government in October, home prices were still 6.6 percent lower than the same month last year.  While apartment prices dropped by 5.6 percent in the first 11 months of this year, rents continued to rise. The rent index increased by 0.6 percent in November to a four-year high, marking the 10th consecutive month of rent increases. Head of valuation and advisory services at real estate services company Colliers Hong Kong, Hannah Jeong, said she expects the downward trend to continue next year, but the extent of the decline will depend on the impact of any US interest rate cuts.