Chung Yuan Mortgage: Unprecedented Increase in Property Transactions in Hong Kong Real Estate Market. In January, the number of new mortgage loan applications increased significantly by 15.4% to 8785 cases compared to the previous month.

Kingdom Mortgage Director and General Manager Wang Meifeng said that the latest residential mortgage statistics from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed that the amount of new mortgage loans taken out in January increased by 8.6% monthly, totaling approximately HK$21.736 billion, reaching a 19-month high; the number of transactions increased by 3.3% monthly to 4,296, rising for three consecutive months and reaching a three-month high. The amount of new mortgage loans granted in January reached approximately HK$32.483 billion, an increase of 4.1% monthly, reaching a 29-month high; the number of transactions increased by 6.7% monthly to 6,475 transactions, rising for three consecutive months and reaching a four-month high. The number of new mortgage loan applications in January increased significantly by 15.4% monthly to 8,785, reaching a six-month high, reflecting the continued warming of the property market and the accelerated pace of buyers entering the market, driving steady and prosperous performance in the mortgage market. Wang Meifeng analyzed that the property market in January witnessed a surge in trading volume, with the largest increase in new mortgage loan applications by 15.4%, indicating a positive performance in the property market after the start of the year, leading to a further increase in mortgage loan volume and reflection in future figures. It is expected that the property market will continue to improve steadily this year, with active trading in both primary and secondary markets, and confident buyers entering the market with Hong Kong dollars, which will continue to drive positive trends in mortgage figures. It is expected that the residential mortgage market in 2026 will continue to grow sustainably due to favorable factors. Data shows that in January, the amount of new mortgage loans granted reached HK$32.5 billion, an increase of 4.1% from December. In the primary market, loans granted for transactions decreased by 3.1% monthly to HK$11.3 billion. As for the secondary market, the performance was relatively ideal, with new mortgage loans granted increasing by 8.6% monthly to HK$18.3 billion. In the refinancing market, the amount of refinancing increased by 7.1% to HK$2.9 billion, but the overall number of refinancing transactions and amounts remain relatively low. In addition, the total outstanding mortgage loan amount in January increased slightly by 0.3% monthly to HK$1.9234 trillion; the mortgage delinquency rate remained at a low level of 0.13%. According to the January 2026 statistics from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the proportion of variable rate mortgages decreased slightly by 0.3 percentage points to 89.5% monthly, falling from 89.8% in December; while the proportion of fixed rate mortgages increased from 1.3% in December to 1.5% in January, and the proportion of fixed rate mortgages increased by 0.6 percentage points to 5.4%, reaching a 38-month high. Wang Meifeng explained that the demand for fixed rate mortgages has been gradually increasing in recent months, and with variable rate mortgage rates expected to remain at the current cap of 3.25% for a while, the attractiveness of existing fixed rates below 2.73% will increase, leading to a further increase in the proportion of fixed rate mortgages. With the increased attractiveness of low interest fixed rate mortgages, it is expected that more banks will introduce low interest fixed rate mortgage plans in the future.