Midland Realty: It is expected that the first-hand transacation volume in the Hong Kong property market will reach over one billion Hong Kong dollars in the second half of the year, setting a new record high for the half year.

With the strong performance of Hong Kong stocks triggering a wealth effect, the investment atmosphere in the market is warming up. In addition to the US restarting interest rate cuts, the fund environment is further loosening, leading to a significant increase in residential transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars in the second half of the year, especially in luxury homes. According to Midland Realty, as of the end of December 8th, there have been 61 transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars in the second half of the year, involving a total amount of 129.4 billion Hong Kong dollars. This represents a more than doubling compared to the first half of the year, with 30 transactions totaling approximately 60.9 billion Hong Kong dollars. Midland Realty expects that the number of transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars in the second half of the year will challenge 70 transactions and a total amount of 150 billion Hong Kong dollars, potentially setting a new high post the implementation of the one-hand sales regulations. Tony Ma, CEO of Midland Holdings (Residential), pointed out that in the second half of this year, there has been a significant acceleration in luxury residential transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars. This reflects the continuous inflow of funds into the Hong Kong property market, directly resulting in boosting market sentiment and causing property prices in Hong Kong to rebound in the second half of the year. Ma believes that with the US interest rate cuts in progress, the low interest rate environment is expected to continue next year, which will further release the wealth effect. With the continuous improvement of the local economy in Hong Kong, the scarcity of super luxury properties has attracted wealthy buyers, leading to a positive outlook for residential transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars next year. This will add momentum to the Hong Kong property market's rise, in addition to existing long-term investment and self-use demand, Ma believes that property prices are expected to rise by 8% to 10% for the entire year of 2026. The secondary market with transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars is also active. According to Midland Realty Research Center and land registry data, there have been 33 transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars in the second half of the year, as of December 8th, surpassing the 27 transactions in the first half of last year by about 22.2%. The total amount involved is approximately 65.4 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is an increase of about 16.3% compared to the first half of the year. In fact, the positive performance of Hong Kong stocks this year, together with the US interest rate cuts, has attracted capital inflows. Mainland Chinese buyers, who have always favored Hong Kong super luxury properties, have actively invested in high-quality properties in Hong Kong, making super luxury homes the focus of capital investment. According to Midland Realty Research Center and land registry data analysis, based on the known buyers' names, mainland Chinese buyers (as identified by the English spelling of buyer names) accounted for about 57.1% of the transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars by individual buyers in the first 10 months of this year. This means that out of every 100 transactions exceeding a billion Hong Kong dollars by individual buyers, about 57 involved mainland Chinese buyers. Ma noted that the ratio of mainland Chinese buyers purchasing super luxury homes is much higher than the overall level of mainland Chinese buyers accounting for approximately 22% of individual buyer transactions, indicating that super luxury homes are highly sought after by mainland Chinese buyers.