Hong Kong Land Registry: Bulk sale and zero application of presale flats agreed in May.

On June 5th, the Hong Kong Land Registry announced that in May, there were no new cases of pre-sale agreements, approvals, or applications for new properties. This is the first time since February 2022 that there have been zero applications and approvals after a gap of over 3 years. Currently, there are 17 projects awaiting approval for pre-sale properties, involving 6517 units, the same number as in April. The Managing Director of Horace Consulting and Valuation, Zhang Qiaochu, stated that the current situation is related to the real estate market. There are over 28,000 units of unsold new properties, but the sales volume in the past year has typically been under 20,000 units, indicating that the excess inventory is not being absorbed by the market. Furthermore, with buyers currently dominating the market, residents are more inclined to purchase existing properties rather than pre-sale properties. Even if developers apply for pre-sales early, it does not guarantee an early sale, reducing the incentive for developers to apply for pre-sale properties. The head of the research department at Ricacorp Properties, Chen Haichao, believes that the "zero approvals" and "zero applications" situation is influenced by the escalating trade war, which has made the overall market more cautious in order to focus on reducing inventory and easing the pressure on the Hong Kong property market. However, with recent improvements in the market conditions, easing trade tensions, and a decrease in the supply of new properties, it is expected that the situation of zero approvals and zero applications will improve.