Midland Realty: CCL recorded a 5.59% increase in the first quarter, exceeding the full year of last year. It is expected that the upward trend of Hong Kong property prices will continue in the second quarter.

In the first quarter of 2026, the performance of the property market rebounded, showing a situation of both price and volume. Chen Wing-keung, Deputy Chairman and President of the Residential Department of Midland Realty Asia Pacific, pointed out that benefited from interest rate cuts, as well as the release of investment and non-local demand due to the comprehensive relaxation of the cooling measures, the property market has turned around and the upward trend has accelerated. The Midland City Leading Index (CCL) recorded a 5.59% increase in the first quarter, exceeding the full-year increase of 4.7% in 2025. The latest CCL report is 153.67 points, up nearly 14% from the low of 134.89 points, rebounding. Chen Wing-keung said that the pent-up buying power has been released, and sales of several new projects are hot, with both the primary and secondary markets booming. Midland's big data on the property market shows a total of 17,006 registered transactions in the first quarter of this year, a 63% increase over the same period last year, jumping from 10,411 transactions to a new high in fifteen years, second only to the 24,396 transactions in the first quarter of 2011. In terms of primary market, there were 5,354 registrations in the first quarter of this year, a 47% increase year-on-year, reaching a new high for the twenty-second year period; the amount involved reached as high as HKD 62.7 billion, a strong increase of 102% year-on-year, hitting a new high for the historical period. Overall, the total transaction amount for the first quarter of this year for both primary and secondary transactions reached HKD 154.5 billion, nearly 90% higher year-on-year, and the second highest for the same period since records began in 1996, second only to HKD 157.2 billion in the first quarter of 1997. This reflects the strong purchasing power of the "small spring", with buyers emerging at unprecedented speeds, fearing that delaying purchases will only result in higher prices, prompting them to enter the market more quickly. Furthermore, the large buyers were active in the primary market this year. Midland's property market big data shows that there were 271 cases of big buyers entering the market in the first quarter of 2026, a sharp increase of 1.3 times year-on-year, involving 715 units, with a total transaction amount of HKD 7.33 billion. The volume of large buyer transactions accounted for over 10% of the overall primary registrations, reaching an eighteen-year high for the same period since 2008. Compared to the 15 cases in the first quarter of 2023 before the cooling measures were lifted, there was a 17-fold increase in the first quarter of this year, reflecting a rapid market recovery after the policy relaxation, a significant increase in the intentions of large buyers to enter the market, and a warming investment atmosphere. The concentration of large transactions was in the newly developed SIERRASEA in West Kowloon by New World Development, with 166 cases of large-scale acquisitions recorded in the first quarter, involving up to 447 units; while the Grand Waterfront in North Point and The Merton in Yau Ma Tei also recorded 10 sets (involving 27 units) and 8 sets (involving 33 units) of large buyer records, respectively. Chen Wing-keung said that the "small spring" in the first quarter of this year is expected to continue into the second quarter. The second quarter has traditionally been a peak season for the property market, and this year, it is expected to reach a higher level, challenging the level of 20,000 transactions, with the Midland City Leading Index also having the opportunity to rise to 160 points, and the rate of decline in property prices gradually narrowing. He pointed out that the turbulence in the Middle East has raised renminbi hedging sentiment, with funds continuing to flow into Hong Kong and mainland buyers actively entering the market, providing additional momentum for the property market. With the strong rebound in property prices this year, bank valuations are also rising. According to the latest estimates from Midland, the estimated increases for the top ten housing estates this year are sharp, with the largest increase reaching 20%, with the most significant increases observed in the three key estates in the Hong Kong Island area - South Horizons, Taikoo Shing, and Kornhill. Among them, the mid-level unit E at Block 32 of South Horizons, has a latest estimated price of HKD 9.76 million in this month, compared to HKD 8.16 million at the end of last year, representing a 19.6% increase, ranking first among the top ten housing estates in Hong Kong; the low-level unit B at Tai Wo Court in Taikoo Shing, has seen its latest estimated price rise to HKD 6.08 million, an increase of 15.8% over the HKD 5.25 million at the end of last year. The high-level unit 6 at Block A of Kornhill Gardens has a latest estimated price of HKD 12.9 million, up 14.7% from the HKD 11.25 million at the end of last year. The rate of increase in the four key estate in Kowloon - Newton's Place, Whampoa Garden, Laguna City, and Mei Foo Sun Chuen, range from 8% to 14.4%. Bank valuations have always been cyclical, with values being more aggressive when the market is doing well; once the market conditions reverse, they quickly turn conservative. Changes in bank valuations more directly reflect the urgency of the upward trend. Looking ahead, the demand for properties in the market is expected to further increase, and the upward trend in property prices is expected to continue in the second quarter.