有代理行发表商厦市场报告指，4月份分散业权甲厦售价及租金均录升幅，两者分别按月升3.2%及0.3%。

港岛区高价买卖带动

截至今年4月底，受数宗高价成交带动，甲厦售价今年以来累升6.6%。

该行代理表示，上月商厦大额成交畅旺，最瞩目集中港岛区，包括一家国企以2.55亿购买湾仔会展广场办公大楼一个逾8000方呎的中层单位，呎价约31075元，金鐘东昌大厦低层单位以1.68亿成交，呎价近2万。

租务方面，市场消息指字节跳动将进驻中环国际金融中心一期约2万方呎单位，料呎租约120元。该办公室原由瑞士宝盛租用，反映外资企业缩减规模及迁离核心商业区，国内机构钟情中环，并扩大香港市场趋势。

整体甲厦空置率10.3%

该报告指出，上月全港整体甲厦空置率为10.3%，较上月回落0.1个百分点，中区、湾仔及铜锣湾、尖沙嘴的空置率分别为8.8%、7.4%及8.1%。虽然復常后的商厦空置率仍高企，但部分区域吸纳情况稍有好转，上环、尖沙嘴、观塘的空置率略为改善，其中上环跌0.5个百分点。

虽然未来面临环球经济增长放缓及出口受压的挑战，但根据政府最近公布的本地经济数据，今年首季实质本地生产总值按年增长2.7%，更终止连续四个季度的跌势。

(星岛日报)

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上月录377宗铺位租赁 代理行：按月减约30%

根据一间本地代理行资料，4月份共录约377宗铺位租赁，对比3月份减少约30%，按年同期对比则见相若。该行分析，4月份有清明及復活节假期，租务交投略微转淡。

该行代理表示，4月份商铺租赁总金额约4566.54万，金额按月减少约31%，对比2022年同期量稳价升，租赁回落相信月内遇上长假期，商户集中迎接消费力，租铺计画暂缓，但对比去年同期而言，整体租金水平回升，金额升约23%，成交宗数按年相若，月内录瞩目租务，尖沙嘴星光行地下1及2号铺，以每月约100万租予名牌手袋店；旺角花园街71至73号地下A至C号铺，由体育用品店以每月约78万承租。

金额4566万按月减31%

该代理续称，4月份五大核心区商铺空置率窄幅上涨，表现较佳只有铜锣湾，空置率维持6.34%，与上月相若，但对比去年同期多出0.94个百分点。中环最新空置率13.21%，湾仔约13.06%，两区按月分别升0.10及0.03个百分点，尖沙嘴约11.53%，按月多出0.06个百分点；旺角约9.12%，按月微升0.02个百分点。

星光行铺月租100万瞩目

代理分析，市场气氛比去年大幅改善，今年2月份全面通关后，旅客人次飆升，根据旅发局资料，2月份约146万人，3月激增至约245万人次，增幅达约67%，预测下半年价量齐升。

(星岛日报)

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Shop deals dive 31pc as core vacancy rates rise

Commercial and residential property sales languished in Hong Kong as the vacancy rate in four core shopping areas increased and weekend sales of second-hand homes remained lackluster.

The number of shop sales in April dipped 31.2 percent monthly to 377 while the total value of deals fell 31.9 percent to HK$45.67 million, a property agency said.

At the same time, the vacancy rate in the four core areas shot up last month compared to March.

Central reported the highest vacancy rate of 13.21 percent last month, up by 0.1 percentage points monthly. The proportion of empty shops in Tsim Sha Tsui rose 0.06 percentage points to 11.53 percent, and that in Wan Chai grew 0.03 percentage points to 13.06 percent. Mong Kok recorded a 0.02 percentage point climb to 9.12 percent in April.

Causeway Bay was an exception, with the vacancy rate staying flat at 6.34 percent, but the reading was 0.94 percentage points higher than the same month last year.

The agency said shop transactions fell because the merchants were focused on the long Easter break and had put their buying plans on hold.

Despite the fall in the number of transactions and higher vacancy rates, the agency said market sentiment has greatly improved compared with last year and it expects shop deals will rebound in the second half.

Meanwhile, in the residential secondary market, only six transactions were recorded at 10 major housing estates over the weekend, data from the agency showed.

Though up twofold over the previous week, the number remained in single digits and six of the estates reported no deals.

The lackluster sales could partly be due to inclement weather, which prevented people from viewing homes, as well as price increases by some owners, an agent said.

Moreover, developers are racing to attract homebuyers with market-level prices, squeezing the secondary market, the agent added.

Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016), for example, released the third price list of University Hill phase 2B in Pak Shek Kok to offer 206 units, with the cheapest flat priced at HK$3.28 million after discounts.

This came after it sold out 160 flats on previous price lists on the first day of sales last Saturday.

The 206 flats range from 218 to 729 square feet and cost between HK$3.28 million and HK$14.09 million after discounts.

SHKP expects to kick off the second round of sales on Wednesday to offer 185 units on price lists and 20 by tender.

(The Standard)

Hong Kong’s luxury home renters should prepare to pay more in the second half amid rising demand

Market observers expect high-end rents in the city to rise up to 6 per cent in the second half amid rising demand

The rental index for homes over 1,077 sq ft rose 2.7 per cent from January to March, according to the Rating and Valuation Department

Hong Kong’s luxury home rents have turned a corner and are set to rise up to 6 per cent in the second half as expatriates return, market observers said.

The government’s Top Talent Pass Scheme and the gradual return of expatriates, who had temporarily relocated to other cities including Singapore amid the Covid-19 pandemic, will support the high-end rental market, they said.

“The demand is quite high for big-ticket leasing,” an agent said, who expects luxury property rents on The Peak, Hong Kong’s most exclusive address, and the Southern district, to rise 3 to 5 per cent this year.

This is borne out by the strengthening rental index for big homes – over 1,077 sq ft (100 square metres) – which has risen 2.7 per cent from January to March, the highest level since July 2022, according to data from the Rating and Valuation Department.

The Top Talent Pass Scheme announced by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in October to attract professionals and top graduates to the city has had the desired effect. As of mid-April, more than 60,000 applications had been received, with over 50 per cent of them being approved, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on May 9. Among the successful applicants, a few hundred earned more than HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) a year.

Rents for houses on The Peak and in the Southern district will rise 3 to 6 per cent in the second half amid frequent leasing and limited supply, another agent said.

Another agent also said that leasing activity was brisk for flats and town houses on The Peak and Mid-Levels, with monthly rents ranging from HK$80,000 to HK$120,000.

“With strong leasing demand and momentum mainly driven by the relocation of mainlanders and foreigners in recent months, landlords are less flexible in negotiations,” the agent added.

Leasing activity for high-end property in the most desired areas of Hong Kong Island is on the rise. Transactions on The Peak and in the Southern district rose 8.1 per cent year on year to 120 in the first quarter, according to a property agency. Among them was a 5,032 sq ft house at 11 Plantation Road, which was rented out at HK$580,000 per month in January, according to another property agency.

New leases for upmarket homes on The Peak and in the Southern district rose to a six-month high of 47 in April, according to data from a property agency, which expects the numbers to rise further.

“We certainly expect rents to rise, and already across our portfolio rental growth since the reopening has been more than 10 per cent,” said Sachin Doshi, the founder and group CEO of Weave Living, which owns and operates rental accommodation units in Hong Kong and across the Asia-Pacific.

“Also on a relative basis, for many expat professionals who temporarily relocated overseas to places like Singapore, Hong Kong rents and cost of living are looking attractive again and we are seeing a reverse migration of this expat talent pool back to Hong Kong in a big way,” said Doshi.

Sai Ying Pun, Kennedy Town, Sheung Wan and Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island were popular leasing areas, while Kowloon West and Tai Kok Tsui were preferred by expats and renters from the mainland.

“Recovery in leasing demand has been extremely rapid in Hong Kong after the Covid-19 restrictions were fully lifted, with a 50 to 60 per cent increase in inquiries over the second half of 2022,” said Doshi. “We see this demand continuing to accelerate as we go into the peak leasing period over the summer as the Top Talent Pass Scheme attracts more high-earning global talent.”

Not all market observers share the same enthusiasm, pointing to economic headwinds and a net loss of high-flying expats.

High-end rents will decline as demand is weak, an agent said, adding that the ultra-luxury segment may fare better because of limited supply.

“Expats have [seen] their housing budgets cut, some by up to 50 per cent,” the agent said. “Tenants from the mainland are just trickling, not in [hordes] as people had hoped for.”

The agent added that most businesses expect a full economic recovery in Hong Kong to be slow and gradual because of external factors such as high inflation, interest rates, the possibility of a recession in the US and slower-than-anticipated recovery in China.

Hong Kong’s government, however, has forecast growth of 3.5 to 5.5 per cent this year after the gross domestic product contracted by 3.5 per cent last year.

The agent expects a 10 to 15 per cent drop in high-end rents, saying that he has observed that it was already down 15 per cent compared with a year ago.

Meanwhile, luxury rents in Singapore will rise 3 per cent in the first half from the fourth quarter, before flattening or softening by 1 per cent in the second half, another agent said.

“Landlords in the luxury segment are now more realistic in their rental expectations,” the agent said, adding that transactions in the high end segment had fallen this month and in April.