Lai Fang: In the fourth quarter of last year, Hong Kong had the second highest number of luxury home transactions globally.

Private real estate consulting service company Savills released the new quarterly "Global Super Mansion Report". In the sales of residential properties priced at over $10 million in 12 major global markets, the number of transactions for super mansions in Hong Kong reached 81 in the fourth quarter of last year, the highest since the 91 transactions in the third quarter of 2021. The transaction value increased to $1.566 billion (approximately HK$12.215 billion), reaching a new high since the first quarter of 2021, with a quarterly increase of 45% in transaction volume and 51% in transaction value. Hong Kong ranked second in the global quarterly ranking, second only to Dubai. Liu Wenhua, Senior Director and Head of the Residential Property Agency Department at Savills, stated that the luxury property market in Hong Kong is heating up, with transactions continuing to rise in recent months. Looking ahead to 2026, benefiting from improved market sentiment, stable demand from wealthy buyers, and limited supply of super mansions, the luxury property market is expected to continue to strengthen. Chen Yongjie, Vice Chairman of Asia-Pacific at Centaline Property and President of the Residential Department, stated that the recent increase in transactions of super mansions is mainly driven by the easing of US-China relations, as well as the entry of second or third generations of mainland listed company owners and local old families into the market. It is believed that this trend of active trading in super mansions will gradually spread to the secondary market, resulting in a situation where both new and second-hand properties are in high demand, leading to higher prices for super mansions. It is estimated that overall super mansion prices are expected to rise by about 20% this year, outperforming the overall market. According to market data, as of yesterday, there have been at least 45 transactions of super mansions in Hong Kong this year with prices exceeding HK$78 million, with about 80% being first-hand units. There have been at least 36 transactions of super mansions in the primary market this year, on average more than one transaction per day, with a total amount of approximately HK$6.4 billion; among them, 29 transactions were for properties priced at over HK$100 million. In the secondary market, there have been 9 transactions of super mansions in Hong Kong this year, with prices ranging from HK$92.8 million to HK$347 million, totaling nearly HK$1.413 billion. Most of these cases come from super mansions in the Peak and Southern districts, with 7 transactions involving properties priced at HK$100 million or more. The largest transaction was for a mansion at 110 Repulse Bay Road in the Southern district, with a practical area of 4101 square feet, which exchanged hands for HK$347 million last month, with a price per square foot of nearly HK$85,000. As for the international super mansion market, a total of 555 transactions of super mansions were recorded in 12 major cities in the fourth quarter of last year, with a quarterly increase of 17% and a total transaction value of $10.3 billion, up 20%. Due to active trading in the super mansion markets of Dubai, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Miami, transactions saw a strong growth in the quarter. Dubai ranked first with 143 transactions and a total value of $2.5 billion, with quarterly increases of 39% and 27% respectively. In the previous quarter, Los Angeles saw a decrease in transaction volume by 1 to 63 transactions, with a total transaction value of $1.099 billion, a decrease of 12%; New York saw a sharp decrease in transaction volume by 23% to 57 transactions, with a total transaction value of $1.129 billion, a decrease of 5%; Sydney and Miami saw significant increases in transaction volume by 58% and 82% respectively, with transaction values skyrocketing by 63% and 91%, ranking fifth and sixth respectively. Looking at the performance for the entire year, Dubai achieved a new record with 500 transactions. New York rebounded from a low of 213 transactions in 2023 to 326 transactions, ranking second for the year. Los Angeles ranked third with 261 transactions. Hong Kong rebounded from a low of 124 transactions in 2022 to 232 transactions, ranking fourth. London recorded only 161 transactions of super mansions for the whole year, down 32% year-on-year, marking the fourth consecutive year of decline and the lowest on record. Liam Bailey, Director of Global Research at Savills, pointed out that two prominent phenomena occurred in the fourth quarter of last year. Firstly, Dubai recorded a record-breaking year, reflecting its success in attracting significant wealth inflows over the years, as well as the impact of new supply of super mansions. Secondly, London's super mansion transaction volume fell to seventh place in the fourth quarter of last year, highlighting the significant impact of recent tax reforms on its super mansion market.