Cheung Wan Kit: Hong Kong last year subsidized housing mortgage registration decreased by 41.3% year-on-year, hitting an 8-year low.

Wang Meifeng, Managing Director of Central Mortgage, stated that according to data from Central Mortgage Research Department and Land Registry, Hong Kong recorded 10,003 subsidized housing mortgage registrations in 2024, a decrease of 41.3% compared to the previous year, hitting an 8-year low. This was mainly due to fewer subsidized housing units entering the market in 2024 compared to 2023, as well as softer market transactions in several months of 2024, leading to a decline in the number of subsidized housing mortgage registrations. It is expected that with a more than threefold increase in the number of subsidized housing units entering the market in 2025, the volume of subsidized housing mortgage registrations in Hong Kong this year will also significantly rebound. Data from Central Mortgage Research Department shows that there were a total of 713 subsidized housing mortgage registrations in December 2024, representing a 1.7% increase compared to the previous month. Last year, the Hong Kong government further optimized the second-hand market mortgage program for subsidized housing, extending the mortgage guarantee period to 50 years and raising the maximum mortgage term to 30 years, in order to promote the turnover and circulation of affordable housing. According to data from the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the number of transactions of affordable housing in April 2024 increased significantly by 70% month-on-month to 850 units, but subsequently declined for five consecutive months starting in May due to the softening housing market. Transactions in the affordable housing market slightly increased in October to 289 units, rose again by 13.8% in November to 329 units, but then fell by 39.2% in December to 200 units. Despite this fluctuation, the total number of affordable housing transactions in 2024 increased by 34.6% compared to 2023, reaching 4,402 units, surpassing the peak of 3,690 units in 2021 and setting a new record since the launch of the "White Form Secondary Market Scheme" in 2013.