Hong Kong Property: August Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department property price index rebounds, expected uptrend in Hong Kong property prices to continue.

Hong Kong Property: August Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department property price index rebounds, expected uptrend in Hong Kong property prices to continue. Wang Pindi, Director of Research at Hong Kong Property, said that the private residential price index published today by the Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department rose to 320.5 points in August, up about 0.1% month-on-month, reflecting an improvement in market sentiment. He believes that the recent recovery in primary market transactions will help drive market sentiment, increase market confidence in the outlook, and boost secondary market transactions, giving Hong Kong property prices room to rise further. In terms of primary market transactions, Hong Kong Property's Data and Research Department, based on information from the Sales of First-hand Residential Properties Electronic Platform and market sources, showed that about 1,300 transactions were recorded in September, rising for two consecutive months and again exceeding 1,000 transactions after nearly 1,100 deals in August. Looking ahead to October, multiple new projects are expected to be launched; if new projects continue to be sold at attractive prices, the full month is expected to sustain more than 1,000 transactions, which would mark three consecutive months above 1,000 transactions since August, and market sentiment is also expected to continue improving. In addition, as the Hong Kong government actively attracts external talent to Hong Kong, injecting new demand into the residential market, rents have continued to hit new highs. The private residential rental index also published today by the Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department rose to 210.3 points in August, up about 1.6% month-on-month, and has set new highs for 10 consecutive months. Rising rents increase the incentive to "switch from renting to buying" and have also become one of the driving forces behind the strong continuation of Hong Kong property price gains this year.