This file photo shows residential buildings at Tai Koo Shing, Hong Kong. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong private home prices, among the most expensive in the world, softened from an all-time high for the second month in November, official data showed on Wednesday, but realtors expect the property market to gain as much as 10 percent in 2022.
The prices declined 1.2 percent last month, according to the data, compared to a revised 0.5 percent fall in October. Prices reached a record high in September according to the revised figures, and gained 3.1 percent in the first 11 months.
Property agents said buyers turned more cautious after prices hit a new peak, amid concerns that policy measures could be introduced to cool the market
Property agents said buyers turned more cautious after prices hit a new peak, amid concerns that policy measures could be introduced to cool the market. That no such measures were introduced is one reason analysts cite for expected market gains next year.
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The official price index lags one to two months behind the market, they added.
For the full year of 2021, property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield expects home prices to rise around 6.5 percent and transaction numbers to jump to the highest since 2012, at 74,600 units.
It forecasts home prices to rise another 5-10 percent in 2022 on the improving economic environment.
JLL, another consultancy, expects prices to climb by up to 5 percent next year on strong demand and low mortgage rates.
"New private housing supply will remain low in the medium term … it will support the capital values of mass residential to stay firm," said Joseph Tsang, chairman of JLL in Hong Kong.
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