Li Jia Ge: The market expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month in Hong Kong's 50 target housing estates and the volume of weekend reservations to view properties will drop 1.2%

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Chen Haichao, head of the research department of Lijiage Real Estate, said that the market expects a high chance that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month, disrupt buyers' market entry arrangements, and further widen the price differences between buyers and sellers. Although some owners have lowered their bids, under the haze of interest rate hikes, buyers generally wait and see for a more suitable time to enter the market. According to data estimates from the Ricard Real Estate Research Department, the 50 target housing estates in Hong Kong recorded a total of 1,190 groups of customers who made reservations to see the property over the weekend. This is a slight decrease of 1.2% compared to the 1,205 groups last weekend, falling below the level of 1,200 groups.

By region, weekend bookings for the target housing estates in the three districts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories declined across the board. Among them, the 8 target housing estates in Hong Kong Island temporarily recorded 190 groups of customers to book and see buildings this weekend, down 2.6% from week to week. Liu Xinwen, assistant sales director of Regal Court Real Estate's Jiaheng Bay and Xinghua District, said that Jia Heng Bay has not recorded second-hand sales transactions this month, and the market situation in the region is quiet. He said that the market believes that interest rate hikes in the US are likely to hinder the market entry atmosphere for buyers in the region. In addition, there are still multiple first-hand market sales to attract customers during the month, causing second-hand customers to be divided, and the number of reservations to see properties in the region is also under pressure. He added that second-hand owners in the region have begun to relax their bargaining space, but it is different from the buyer's ideal price and is still in a state of tug-of-war.

In the Kowloon district, the 21 target housing estates temporarily recorded 415 groups of customers to make appointments to see the buildings over the weekend, a decrease of 1.2% on a weekly basis. Deng Darong, chief co-director of the Metropolis Branch of Ricard Real Estate, said that as of the middle of this month, Metropolis has temporarily recorded three second-hand transactions this month. Although it has equalized the total monthly turnover of the previous month, it is still not ideal. He said that second-hand owners are asking for prices without drastic price cuts, and second-hand buyers are also getting their attention from new listings in the city, and second-hand sales in the area are in a tug. As for the number of reservations to see the property this weekend, it is also slightly lower than last week.

As for the 21 target housing estates in the New Territories, 585 groups of customers made reservations to see the property this weekend, down 0.8% from week to week. Xiao Qinuo, manager of Regal Court Real Estate's Tin Shui Wai - Kingswood Villas branch, said that the market is worried that the chances of US interest rate hikes will increase next month, and buyers are generally unwilling to cut prices. Buyers and sellers remain deadlocked, leading to slow down trading at Kingswood Villas this month. Currently, buyers mainly hold a wait-and-see mentality, and weekend housing estate reservations are also under pressure. It is expected that the interest rate trend will become clear, or more landlords are willing to expand the price reduction space.