On the Market:
Properties for sale and lease
Having experienced a seasonal slow-down over the Christmas and Chinese New Year periods, the rental market in Hong Kong appears to be slowly picking up pace in Q1 2019. It remains to be seen whether uncertainties such as the USChina trade war and Brexit, or financial pressures such as interest rate hikes and the implementation of the proposed vacancy tax in Hong Kong will have any major effect on the city’s leasing market this year. There are signs that companies are tightening their belts and cautiously waiting to see the impact of these factors, before making final decisions on global staff mobility.
Capital values in the mass residential market have retreated by 5.2 percent since peaking at the end of August 2018, ending 27 months of consecutive growth. The luxury segment, however, has been more resilient, with capital values remaining largely flat.
2019 brings with it some interesting question marks ahead for the property market in Hong Kong. What the answers will be still remain a little ambiguous and we expect to have more resolution when the outcome of Brexit, the trade war and other events that will affect the financial markets become clearer.