Le Fang: The atmosphere of the Hong Kong property market is obviously warming up, and it is expected that property prices will rise by 4-5% next year.

Lai Fong's senior director and head of research and consulting for Greater China, Wang Zhaoqi, stated that the atmosphere in the Hong Kong property market has shown signs of warming up. However, due to the high level of unsold inventory, the HIBOR has not been able to remain low enough to significantly drive down interest rates, causing market purchasing power to continue leaning towards new developments. Additionally, new development pricing has not shown much progress, and the prices of second-hand properties have not shown a significant increase this year. He pointed out that the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates by 0.25% in December to stimulate the economy, and predicted that property prices will start to improve noticeably after the Chinese New Year, but will not see a significant increase before then, rising by 2-3% in 2025. Property prices are expected to see a significant improvement in 2026, with a potential increase of 4-5% for the whole year. According to data from the Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department, the private residential property price index for the entire city in October this year was 294.3, a slight increase of 0.4% from the previous month, marking the fifth consecutive month of increase. Wang Zhaoqi expects Hong Kong banks to lower their best lending rates by 0.125-0.25% by the end of the year, bringing interest rates down to nearly 3%, lower than the rental yield, which will attract more investors into the market. Furthermore, with various talent schemes by the Hong Kong government leading to a slight increase in the labor force and high-income individuals, there continues to be rigid support for residential rental demand. The trend of residential rental prices is expected to remain stable in the coming months, with a potential increase of 5-6% in residential rental prices in 2025, reaching a historical high. The rental price trend is expected to continue to be stable and upward in 2026, with a further increase of 3-5% annually.