Hong Kong's residential sales prices have dropped by 5% in the third quarter, and the affordability index for residents has improved to 62%.

On November 15, the Hong Kong government released the "2024 Third Quarter Economic Report", which stated that overall residential prices dropped by 5% during the quarter. With the decrease in residential prices, the affordability index for home ownership improved to around 62% during the quarter, but it still remained higher than the long-term average of 54% from 2004 to 2023. Meanwhile, overall residential rents rose by 2% during the quarter. The non-residential property market remained weak, and trading activities in all major market segments remained sluggish. Prices and rents remained soft. The Hong Kong government stated that the residential property market was quiet for most of the third quarter, but improved slightly after the US cut interest rates in September, leading developers to accelerate the release of new properties. Overall, trading activities decreased compared to the previous quarter, and residential prices remained soft. The total number of residential property sale and purchase agreements submitted to the Land Registry in the third quarter was 10,225, a decrease of 43% from the previous quarter but still 11% higher than a year ago. The Hong Kong government pointed out that in the third quarter of this year, due to uncertainties in the interest rate cuts by the US and the economic outlook of major economies, the Hong Kong stock market remained soft, with the Hang Seng Index fluctuating narrowly between 17,000 and 18,000 points for most of the quarter. However, after the US cut interest rates by 50 basis points on September 18th and the mainland subsequently announced a package of measures to boost the economy and capital markets, market sentiment improved significantly. The Hang Seng Index surged and closed at 21,134 points at the end of the quarter, representing a 19.3% increase from the end of June.