Knight Frank: It is expected that the total transaction volume of the Hong Kong property market will be similar to that of last year, with prices fluctuating within a range of plus or minus 3%.

Rosanna Tang, Executive Director and Head of Research at Knight Frank, said that she expects the overall transaction volume in the Hong Kong property market to be similar to last year, with prices fluctuating within plus or minus 3% for the whole year. She pointed out that in the second quarter, the Hong Kong residential market responded positively with developers actively launching new projects, supporting a rebound in transaction volume to over 5,000 units per month from March to May. According to data from the Rating and Valuation Department, the overall residential price index stabilized in April and May, rising by 0.5% over the two months, narrowing the cumulative decline for the first five months to 0.9%. In the second quarter, as interbank rates (HIBOR) were lowered and maintained at relatively low levels, it helped to reduce mortgage and entry costs. At the same time, developers actively seized the opportunity to launch new projects and adopted pricing strategies to attract buyers, leading to active trading in the primary market and maintaining high overall residential transaction volumes. Knight Frank estimates that the total number of residential sale and purchase agreements in the second quarter is expected to reach around 15,900 units, a quarterly increase of about 30%, reflecting the continued market resilience. In terms of rental index, with the increasing number of expatriates and local students in Hong Kong, combined with the traditional peak rental season in May and June, the private residential rental index rose by 0.67% month-on-month in May, driving a 1.4% increase for the first five months. Looking ahead, although global uncertainties continue to escalate and the sustainability of low rates is uncertain, if the US cuts interest rates again this year, supporting a further decrease in HKD rates, it is believed to have a positive impact on the property market.