Hong Kong sees rising interest in property auctions, as housing market outlook improves

The number of potential buyers has increased because of the rising property market, analyst says

There will be buyers for foreclosed property because of housing shortage: auctioneer

Interest in property auctions has risen amid a boom in Hong Kong’s housing market, despite a decline in the number of properties foreclosed.

An improving economy, the easing coronavirus pandemic and low interest rates have all contributed to this trend, market players said.

“The number of [potential buyers] has increased by about 10 per cent than [earlier] because of the rising property market,” surveyor said.

The rise in interest in foreclosed properties, along with increased offers and more consistent transactions comes as Hong Kong’s unemployment ratehas started to fall and operations of sectors hit hard by the pandemic such as retail, catering and entertainment have normalised.

An improving economy, however, also means fewer homes are being foreclosed. The number of homes taken over by lenders stood at about 90 until this month, and would not go beyond 100 for the whole year, the surveyor said. The original owners had a higher ability to buy back their properties and banks were not too stringent with foreclosures, the surveyor added.

Foreclosed properties were selling more quickly and more frequently, and while there are no official statistics available for this category, the surveyor said that about 12 such homes were sold in June, as of early last week.

At auctions, price offers had increased, by about 10 per cent for homes put up for auction by owners, and by 5 per cent to 7 per cent for homes auctioned by banks, the surveyor said.

More people were viewing such properties and placing bids, an auctioneer said. More deals were being struck before actual auctions, the auctioneer added, although the price increases during bidding were not large.

“There will be buyers for normal mass-market properties, as long as they are 5 per cent to 10 per cent lower than market price, since the market has a shortage of supply,” the auctioneer said.

The flurry of transactions has been consistent before, during and after auctions, in the first half of this year, another auctioneer said. Last year, there were periods when there were no transactions, the auctioneer added.

The bids for a 1,355 sq ft house at Marina Cove in Sai Kung went up from HK$14.9 million (US$1.9 million) to HK$16.6 million at an auction by the auctioneer last week. The Bank of China (Hong Kong), however, values the house at HK$30.15 million. The property was discounted as it saw a suicide some years ago, the auctioneer said.

The auctioneer said his colleagues were taking the time to educate potential buyers as more people – including those who have never bought such properties – were asking about foreclosed properties over the phone or viewing them.

“This year, there have been so many calls that our colleagues have had to [answer] over 100 calls for certain listings,” the auctioneer said. “Many listings had many people inquiring about them. My colleagues were overwhelmed by just answering their calls.”

(South China Morning Post)

工商舖5月買賣登記連續三個月逾600宗

資料顯示，5月全港共錄得632宗工商舖物業買賣登記，按月回落9%，但仍處於近24個月的次高水平，且連續3個月錄逾600宗，為逾兩年半最旺；至於月內買賣合約總值錄得76.89億元，按月下跌42%，主要是月內逾億元的大額登記有所減少。

按工商舖3個物業類別劃分，工廈按月登記量維持最多。5月工廈錄得351宗登記，按月跌8%，佔整體工商舖成交達55.5%。雖然5月高價工廈買賣登記量普遍錄得升幅，惟月內缺乏整幢轉手的登記，故拖累月內工廈買賣金額大跌39%，只錄得約32.68億元。

商廈買賣登記量錄得連續3個月上升，5月共錄127宗，按月再升2%；月內整體商廈買賣登記金額按月下挫66%，至只有17.95億元，主因是前月有大額全幢登記抽升基數所致。

店舖買賣登記量方面，經過連月大升後，5月略為回軟。期內錄得154宗登記，按月減少17%，為工商舖中跌幅最大的類別。不過，跌幅主要集中在細價物業，令店舖買賣登記總額逆市上升，錄26.26億元，按月增2%。

代理表示，工商舖整體登記量已連續3個月企穩在逾600至近700宗的水平，預料6月仍可承接如此旺勢，市場亦已確認目前是落注及加碼的好時機。受惠疫情轉緩及疫苗持續接種，通關之日又邁進一大步；加上整體經濟復甦，失業及破產情況有改善，相信可加強投資者入市信心，配合8月消費券推出料可進一步帶旺消費市道，因此預期本月及第三季工商舖市道將可以繼續看高一線。

(信報)