CBRE Weiss: The Bank of Hong Kong is likely to raise its best interest rate, and it is expected that the housing market will enter a consolidation period in the second half of the year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25%, in line with the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike measures. Zheng Haiyan, head of the Hong Kong Valuation and Advisory Services Department and executive director of CBRE Weiss, believes that what the Hong Kong housing market is currently most concerned about is whether banks will simultaneously raise the best interest rate after the HKMA raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points.

CBRE believes that there is a high possibility that major banks in Hong Kong will raise the best interest rate, and once implemented, it will directly push up the capped interest rate of most H mortgage plans linked to P interest, increasing the payment costs for homebuyers. Market expectations will respond to this and cause residential transaction activity to slow down in the second half of 2026.

According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the benchmark interest rate has been raised by 25 basis points to 4.25%. Despite this, the performance of the Hong Kong housing market improved markedly in the first half of 2026. Both transaction volume and property prices showed that the market had gradually bottomed out, reflecting a continued recovery in basic demand.

The bank expects the market to enter a consolidation period in the second half of 2026. In addition to rising financing costs, the Mainland's adoption of stricter control measures on capital outflows may also affect investment demand and the inflow of cross-border capital into the Hong Kong housing market, further making buyers more cautious in entering the market.