Korean: In the first 11 months of the year, first-hand large-scale transactions in Hong Kong increased by 4.9% year-on-year, focusing on mid- to low-priced properties.

Alan Sze, an analyst at Midland Realty, pointed out that comprehensive data showed that Hong Kong had a total of 560 first-hand residential transactions in the first 11 months of this year, an increase of about 4.9% compared to the same period last year, which had 534 transactions. This is nearly 8.5 times higher than the only 59 transactions in the same period in 2023. In terms of units involved, there were approximately 1,378 units involved in first-hand residential transactions in the first 11 months of this year, an increase of about 1.5% compared to the same period last year, nearly 9.3 times higher than in 2023. Although there has been a significant increase in first-hand residential transactions, it is believed that long-term investment remains the main focus. In the first 11 months of this year, there were approximately 1,378 first-hand residential transactions, accounting for only about 7% of the total number of first-hand private residential registrations during the same period, indicating that the first-hand market is still dominated by end-users. Sze pointed out that the majority of first-hand residential transactions continue to involve small to medium-sized units priced at 6 million Hong Kong dollars or less. In the first 11 months of this year, there were a total of 666 such units involved, accounting for nearly half of the total first-hand residential transactions during the same period. This represents an increase of about 27.3% compared to the 523 units involved in the same period last year, reflecting the trend of investors locking in low-priced properties for long-term rental income. Sze believes that the preference for low-priced properties among first-hand residential buyers is not only due to the cooling measures in place but also because the stamp duty threshold for properties priced below 4 million Hong Kong dollars has been increased to only 100 Hong Kong dollars, reducing the cost of purchasing low-priced properties. Meanwhile, the number of units priced over 6 million to 10 million Hong Kong dollars and over 10 million Hong Kong dollars saw year-on-year declines of about 10.1% and about 17.2% respectively. With changes in the market behavior of first-hand residential buyers after the cooling measures, the number of units purchased through the "buy more units with one contract" method has decreased to about 20 units, a sharp decline of about 44.4% compared to the same period last year. In terms of regional distribution, in the first 11 months of this year, the district with the highest number of known first-hand residential transactions is Sai Kung, with a total of 212 units involved, all from the SIERRA SEA series. This is followed by Wong Chuk Hang/Deep Water Bay, with 148 units involved, the majority from the ONTOC series with 112 units; and Kai Tak with 143 units in third place, with more units from developments like Victoria Harbour Twin Towers, THE HENLEY, and DOUBLE COAST. Wan Chai/Causeway Bay and To Kwa Wan/Kowloon City recorded 117 units and 101 units respectively, making them the fourth and fifth largest areas for first-hand residential transactions.