JLL: It is expected that the price increase for small to medium-sized residential properties in Hong Kong will range between 5% and 10% for the year, with rents continuing to rise.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Hong Kong Chairman, Zeng Huaping, stated that the impact of mainland buyers' foreign investment regulations on the Hong Kong property market is limited, allowing the market to gradually adjust. It is expected that the price increase for small to mid-sized residential properties will range between 5% and 10% for the entire year, while the rental market will benefit from recovering demand, leading to higher rents. According to data from the Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department, the private residential property price index in Hong Kong reported 321.5 points in July, a month-on-month decrease of 0.46%, thus ending a 13-month upward trend, while year-on-year it increased by 11.6%. Over the first seven months of this year, property prices have increased by a cumulative 7.3%. Zeng Huaping indicated that mainland buyers have become one of the major sources of demand for the Hong Kong property market in recent years. Therefore, after the mainland announced enhanced foreign investment and taxation regulations starting in June, some buyers have adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward the property market, looking for details of the implementation. This has led to a decline in residential transaction volumes in June and July, as well as a decrease in the property price index, which is expected to continue to affect property prices and residential transaction volumes in the short term. However, even if purchasing foreign properties in the future will require paying related taxes, this will only increase the buying costs for mainland buyers. It is believed that the market will gradually digest this change, and the long-term impact on the Hong Kong property market will be limited. He anticipates that the price increase for small to mid-sized residential properties will be between 5% and 10% for the entire year, and most of this increase has already been realized in the first half of the year. The residential rental market, benefiting from new demand for student accommodations and the return of expatriate employees to Hong Kong, will inevitably see rents continue to rise.