Leighton Hill: The number of first-hand private residential properties sold in Hong Kong in February increased by about 70% compared to the previous month, with a total value of HK$271.40 billion.

The head of the Research Department at Ricacorp Properties, Chen Haichao, stated that the Hong Kong property market is trending upwards, with buyers rushing to enter the market before the Lunar New Year, stimulating a sharp increase in the registration volume of new projects in February. Data shows that in February, a total of 2,523 first-hand private residential properties were registered for sale in Hong Kong, with a total value of 27.14 billion Hong Kong dollars. Chen Haichao further indicated that with the Lunar New Year in mid to late February, it is expected that the registration volume of first-hand private residential properties in March will decrease by more than half (55.6%), estimated to be around 1,120 registrations, before picking up again. According to data from the Land Registry, the registration volume and total value of first-hand private residential properties in Hong Kong rebounded in February after three consecutive declines, increasing by 69% and 43% respectively compared to January, with the transaction volume reaching a nearly 22-month high and the total value reaching a nearly 8-month high. In terms of transaction volume, it has been maintained at over a thousand registrations for 12 consecutive months, breaking the two thousand registrations mark for the third time within that period. In terms of regions, the registration volume of new projects in the three districts in Hong Kong in February recorded two increases and one decrease. The registration volume in Hong Kong Island slightly exceeded that of the overall market, showing ideal performance compared to the previous month. This was mainly driven by new projects in North Point and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island, resulting in a 71% increase in the registration volume of first-hand private residences in Hong Kong Island in February, with 245 registrations. Additionally, the total value of registrations during the period also increased by 27%, reaching 78.88 billion Hong Kong dollars. As for the Kowloon district, the market experienced a decline against the trend, with a lack of registration of large-scale new projects in the area last month, mainly relying on registrations supported by sales of remaining inventory. Consequently, it fell behind the overall market, with a decrease in registration volume. The new projects with more registrations during the month were in the projects in Yau Tong and Kai Tak, but they did not exceed one hundred registrations each. Yau Tong's "The Spectra" had 82 registrations, followed by 54 registrations for Phase 1 of Kai Tak Bay and 42 registrations for "Seacoast". As a result, there were only 650 registrations of first-hand private residences in Kowloon in February, a decrease of 18% compared to the previous month, with a corresponding 2% decrease in the registration amount, totaling 80.13 billion Hong Kong dollars. As for the New Territories, it showed a strong performance under a low base in the previous month, experiencing a substantial rebound and outperforming the other two districts, becoming the driving force of the market for the month. This was mainly driven by the large-scale new project, "SIERRA SEA", in Sai Kung, which was launched and recorded a large number of registrations. In February, there were 1,628 registrations of first-hand private residential properties in the New Territories, which was 1.93 times higher than the 556 registrations in January, making it the most outstanding region in terms of performance during that period. The registration amount in the New Territories also surged by 1.44 times during the month, involving 112.39 billion Hong Kong dollars, the highest among the three districts. In terms of property types, "SIERRA SEA Phase 2A" recorded 621 registrations in February, becoming the project with the most registrations, with a total value of 3.876 billion Hong Kong dollars, averaging about 6.24 million Hong Kong dollars per registration. The next highest number of registrations was for "SIERRA SEA Phase 2B", with 525 registrations. The project with the highest average transaction price per registration in the rankings was "Phase 2 of The Aviva at South Horizons" in the southern coast of Hong Kong Island, with an average of 59.1 million Hong Kong dollars, while "Phase 3 of Upper Riverside in Tai Po" had a lower average transaction price of 5.27 million Hong Kong dollars. Looking ahead to March, Chen Haichao pointed out that reflecting the actual market conditions in mid-February, which coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday period, many people were traveling or celebrating the new year, and towards the end of February, the market was waiting to see the contents of the government budget, so most people temporarily hold off on making decisions. It is therefore expected that the registration volume of first-hand private residential properties in March will decrease by more than half (55.6%), estimated to be around 1,120 registrations. However, with developers actively launching new projects, it is expected that the market will quickly regain its vibrant activity.