Central Plains: In the first month of 2026, the number of property registrations in Hong Kong fell by 7.3% compared to the previous month, still remaining at a low level.

According to research from China Real Estate, the overall volume of mortgage registration in Hong Kong has only slightly rebounded from the low levels at the end of last year, and is currently mainly in a low-level horizontal trend. Data shows that in January 2026, there were 547 mortgage registrations in banks, a decrease of 7.3% compared to the previous month, and an increase of 1.3% year-on-year. China Real Estate pointed out that the sluggish mortgage market is due to banks raising interest rates for new and existing mortgage plans in 2023, causing homeowners who took out mortgages earlier to still have lower interest rates than the current market rates; secondly, although property prices in Hong Kong have stabilized and started to rise since 2025, prices are still more than 20% lower than their peak, making the incentive for refinancing still weak. In terms of market share, the top five banks remain unchanged, with BOC HONG KONG (02388), HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Hang Seng Bank, and BANK OF E ASIA (00023) holding the highest market share. BOC HONG KONG ranked first with a market share of 22.3% in the first month of 2026, maintaining its position as the leading bank in mortgage registration for the 7th consecutive month.