Hong Kong Monetary Authority: The amount of new mortgage loans approved in February decreased by 10.8% month-on-month to HK$29 billion.

On March 31, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority released the results of the residential mortgage survey for February 2026. In February, the number of new loan applications decreased by 7.5% compared to January, totaling 8,125 cases. The amount of new mortgage loans issued in February decreased by 10.8% compared to January, totaling HK$29 billion. Of these, loans issued for primary market transactions decreased by 24% to HK$8.6 billion, while loans issued for secondary market transactions decreased by 6.1% to HK$17.2 billion. On the other hand, loans issued for refinancing transactions increased by 10.7% to HK$3.2 billion. The amount of new drawdown mortgage loans in February decreased by 24.4% compared to January, totaling HK$16.4 billion. The proportion of new mortgage loans priced with reference to the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (HIBOR) decreased from 89.5% in January to 87.5% in February. The proportion of new mortgage loans priced with the most favorable interest rates increased from 1.5% in January to 1.9% in February. The total amount of outstanding mortgage loans increased by 0.2% in February, reaching HK$1,926.3 billion. The delinquency rate for mortgage loans remained at a low level at 0.13%, while the restructuring loan rate remained close to 0%.