有代理行發表商廈市場報告指，4月份分散業權甲廈售價及租金均錄升幅，兩者分別按月升3.2%及0.3%。

港島區高價買賣帶動

截至今年4月底，受數宗高價成交帶動，甲廈售價今年以來累升6.6%。

該行代理表示，上月商廈大額成交暢旺，最矚目集中港島區，包括一家國企以2.55億購買灣仔會展廣場辦公大樓一個逾8000方呎的中層單位，呎價約31075元，金鐘東昌大廈低層單位以1.68億成交，呎價近2萬。

租務方面，市場消息指字節跳動將進駐中環國際金融中心一期約2萬方呎單位，料呎租約120元。該辦公室原由瑞士寶盛租用，反映外資企業縮減規模及遷離核心商業區，國內機構鍾情中環，並擴大香港市場趨勢。

整體甲廈空置率10.3%

該報告指出，上月全港整體甲廈空置率為10.3%，較上月回落0.1個百分點，中區、灣仔及銅鑼灣、尖沙嘴的空置率分別為8.8%、7.4%及8.1%。雖然復常後的商廈空置率仍高企，但部分區域吸納情況稍有好轉，上環、尖沙嘴、觀塘的空置率略為改善，其中上環跌0.5個百分點。

雖然未來面臨環球經濟增長放緩及出口受壓的挑戰，但根據政府最近公布的本地經濟數據，今年首季實質本地生產總值按年增長2.7%，更終止連續四個季度的跌勢。

(星島日報)

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上月錄377宗鋪位租賃 代理行：按月減約30%

根據一間本地代理行資料，4月份共錄約377宗鋪位租賃，對比3月份減少約30%，按年同期對比則見相若。該行分析，4月份有清明及復活節假期，租務交投略微轉淡。

該行代理表示，4月份商鋪租賃總金額約4566.54萬，金額按月減少約31%，對比2022年同期量穩價升，租賃回落相信月內遇上長假期，商戶集中迎接消費力，租鋪計畫暫緩，但對比去年同期而言，整體租金水平回升，金額升約23%，成交宗數按年相若，月內錄矚目租務，尖沙嘴星光行地下1及2號鋪，以每月約100萬租予名牌手袋店；旺角花園街71至73號地下A至C號鋪，由體育用品店以每月約78萬承租。

金額4566萬按月減31%

該代理續稱，4月份五大核心區商鋪空置率窄幅上漲，表現較佳只有銅鑼灣，空置率維持6.34%，與上月相若，但對比去年同期多出0.94個百分點。中環最新空置率13.21%，灣仔約13.06%，兩區按月分別升0.10及0.03個百分點，尖沙嘴約11.53%，按月多出0.06個百分點；旺角約9.12%，按月微升0.02個百分點。

星光行鋪月租100萬矚目

代理分析，市場氣氛比去年大幅改善，今年2月份全面通關後，旅客人次飆升，根據旅發局資料，2月份約146萬人，3月激增至約245萬人次，增幅達約67%，預測下半年價量齊升。

(星島日報)

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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.