Benefiting from capital flight and investment demand, prices of luxury homes and properties in prime locations in Hong Kong are expected to reach new highs.

Local Chinese surveying firms Puqian Group released a report titled "Analysis of the Hong Kong Property Market in the First Quarter of 2026," pointing out that Hong Kong is benefiting from increasing external and domestic demand, as well as government initiatives to promote the development of Shenzhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering and attract talent. The market is expected to continue to grow steadily as a result. The financial market volatility caused by global political turmoil in the first quarter of this year had little impact on the Hong Kong economy, and the market sentiment in the property market has clearly improved. The firm predicts that in the short term, with the support of favorable policies and talent inflows, housing demand will remain strong, and the rental market sentiment will also remain robust. Luxury homes and properties in traditional core areas are benefiting from capital flight, investment demand, and scarcity, and prices are expected to remain stable or even reach new highs. The Hong Kong government's "Budget for the Year 2026" released at the end of February this year focuses on promoting the development of emerging industries and innovation and technology, which is expected to benefit Hong Kong's long-term economy and boost confidence in the overall property market. In the first two months of this year, there were 12,338 residential transactions in Hong Kong, a year-on-year increase of 81%, with transaction amounts nearly 1.5 times higher. Several new development projects have been selling well, with many cases of investors buying units in bulk. It is predicted that developers will adopt more aggressive pricing strategies in the future, which will further drive up overall housing prices. The report also points out that as the number of non-local students and talent brought in by talent schemes increases, there is a strong demand for small-sized units in the rental market, and residential rents are expected to continue to gently rise. In the luxury home market, the report believes that unique units and detached houses have recently reached record-high transactions, with developers being more reluctant to sell luxury units they hold. High-end residential market is expected to continue to develop steadily under scarcity and investment demand. The firm believes that the proposal in the budget to increase stamp duty on residential properties valued at over 100 million Hong Kong dollars will have little impact on the overall market. In terms of non-residential properties, Puqian believes that the office market continues to face high vacancy rates and price adjustment pressures. However, some top-grade office buildings have recently recorded large leasing transactions, and with businesses gradually returning to physical offices and continued expansion of the real economy, demand for office buildings in core areas is expected to gradually increase, with rental declines expected to narrow. In the industrial building sector, there is an increasing demand for revitalization due to the arrival of high value-added industries and new economy enterprises. As for retail shops, leasing and retail performance in core areas have improved, and the market is expected to develop steadily. The firm also stated that the government's proposal to introduce exclusive legislation for the Northern Metropolis is expected to expedite the release of land in new development areas such as the Northern Metropolis, and recent land auction prices have been higher than market expectations, reflecting developers' confidence in Hong Kong's long-term prospects. Looking ahead, with the proposal of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan to accelerate high-quality development and innovation and technology industry layout, coupled with the hosting of international events such as APEC, this will help consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial and innovation and technology center. The government's various policies to attract talents and businesses from home and abroad will also benefit the long-term performance of residential and commercial properties.