Zhongyuan Mortgage: The number of registered second-hand residential mortgage contracts in Hong Kong in the first quarter reached a new high of 11 quarters.

Yang Mingyi, Senior Joint Director of the Research Department of Centaline Property, pointed out that in March 2026, there were 2207 second-hand residential mortgages registered in Hong Kong, an increase of 253 transactions or 12.9% compared to the previous month. This marks a two-month consecutive increase and the highest in nearly 3 years since June 2023. The first quarter saw 6086 transactions, an increase of 185 transactions or 3.1% compared to the previous quarter, marking a 37.8% increase over three quarters, the highest in 11 quarters since the second quarter of 2023. This mainly reflects the two interest rate cuts by banks in 2025, causing property prices to rise, strong buyer demand, active second-hand transactions, and an increase in mortgage demand. Around 5319 building mortgages (excluding presale properties) were registered in Hong Kong in March 2026, a slight decrease of 28 transactions or 0.5% compared to the previous month. BOC HONG KONG (02388) handled 1345 transactions, accounting for 25.3%; HSBC handled 1259 transactions, accounting for 23.7%; Standard Chartered handled 581 transactions, accounting for 10.9%; Hang Seng handled 562 transactions, accounting for 10.6%; and ICBC Asia handled 372 transactions, accounting for 7.0%. The market share of ICBC has decreased for two consecutive months, with a cumulative decrease of 6.1 percentage points, falling below the 30% mark to reach a new low in the 18 months since September 2024. However, it still maintains the top position for 18 consecutive months. Meanwhile, HSBC's market share has increased for two consecutive months, with a cumulative increase of 1.0 percentage points, reaching a three-month high, and maintaining the second position for 13 consecutive months, with the gap narrowing to less than 2% compared to ICBC. In addition, there were a total of 1.8518 million building mortgages in the first quarter, a quarterly increase of 2421 transactions or 15.0%, marking the highest in 10 quarters since the third quarter of 2023. In March 2026, there were 4329 registered mortgages for private residential properties, an increase of 817 transactions or 23.3% compared to the previous month. Among them, there were 1407 transactions in the primary market, 2207 transactions in the secondary market, and 555 transactions related to transfers or refinancing. All three types of mortgages saw an increase, with a significant increase of nearly 60% in the primary market, exceeding the 1000 transaction mark. In the first quarter, there were 1.3292 million mortgages for private residential properties, an increase of 771 transactions or 6.2% compared to the previous quarter, marking the highest in 10 quarters since the third quarter of 2023. In March, there were 421 registered mortgages for presale properties, an increase of 135 transactions or 47.2% compared to the previous month, reaching a high in nearly 5 months. Projects with a higher number of registrations include The Belcher II Phase III, GRAND SEASONS in Sun Hung Kai Properties, and The Vigo. In the first quarter, there were 1086 presale property mortgages, a slight decrease of 40 transactions or 3.6% compared to the previous quarter, but maintaining stability at over a thousand transactions for 8 consecutive quarters. In March, there were 830 registered mortgages for subsidized housing, sandwich-class housing, and rental purchase schemes, a drastic decrease of 860 transactions or 50.9% compared to the previous month, falling below 1000 transactions for the second consecutive month and reaching a low in nearly 3 months. Projects with a slightly higher number of registrations include High Tor in Yau Tong and Hillgrove Village in Tuen Mun. The completion of new subsidized housing construction mortgages has led to a significant decrease in the numbers. In the first quarter, there were 4733 transactions, an increase of 1686 transactions or 55.3% compared to the previous quarter.