Zhongyuan: The performance of high and medium-priced residential properties in Hong Kong has been outstanding, with transactions of private residential units priced between HK$10 million and HK$50 million reaching about 90% of last year's total for both new and second-hand sales.

Yang Ming-yee, Senior Co-Director of the Research Department at Centaline Property, noted that since the H mortgage rate fell below the capped interest rate in May 2025, and with interest rates subsequently declining, Hong Kong's property prices have bottomed out and begun to rise. The demand for upgrading homes has increased, coupled with the removal of cooling measures and ongoing rent increases, which has also attracted investors. The value of residential properties has rebounded, with the CCL rising nearly 20% from its low, and market purchasing power has noticeably shifted from lower-priced properties to mid-to-high-end residential units. In the first seven months of 2026, the number of registrations for primary and secondary private residential transactions valued between HKD 10 million and HKD 50 million reached nearly 90% and over 90% of the total for 2025, respectively, outperforming the overall market. This shift has led to an increase in the proportion of mid-to-high-priced properties, while the proportion of lower-priced properties (HKD 5 million or below) has declined, with the share of high-priced luxury properties (above HKD 50 million) remaining stable. The number of secondary private residential sale contracts registered in Hong Kong from January to July 2026 reached 30,175, accounting for 75.8% of the total 39,821 registrations for the entire year of 2025, which is higher than the 64.4% for primary transactions during the same period, indicating a hotter secondary market compared to the primary market this year. Among these, transactions of mid-to-high-priced secondary properties ranging from HKD 30 million to HKD 50 million and HKD 10 million to HKD 30 million recorded 427 and 4,588 transactions, achieving 98.8% and 93.7% of last years totals, respectively. Consequently, the share of these transactions increased by 0.3 and 2.9 percentage points to 15.2% and 1.4%, reaching the highest levels in six and four years, respectively. Although property prices have stopped falling and begun to rise, they remain over 15% lower than the historical peak in 2021. The reduction in interest rates and mortgage incentives from banks, along with the 2024 lifting of the mortgage ceiling to 70% and exemption from stress testing, have attracted many buyers looking to upgrade to larger units, stimulating increased trade among upgrading homebuyers and investors in mid-to-high-priced secondary transactions. Transactions for secondary properties priced between HKD 5 million and HKD 10 million recorded 11,386, accounting for 79.0% of last years total, with their share at 37.7%, up by 1.5 percentage points. In contrast, the share of secondary lower-priced properties (HKD 5 million or below) reached only 68.5% of last years total, underperforming, resulting in a slight decrease in the share, which was 44.9% in the first seven months, down by 4.8 percentage points year-on-year, ending four years of consecutive growth. Additionally, transactions of high-priced secondary properties above HKD 50 million accounted for 80.1% of last years total, with their share remaining steady, fluctuating between 0.5% and 0.7% for six consecutive years. In the primary market, the number of registrations for private residential transactions in Hong Kong from January to July 2026 recorded 13,227, corresponding to 64.4% of the total 20,525 registrations for the entirety of 2025. Among these, mid-to-high-priced primary transactions between HKD 10 million and HKD 30 million and HKD 30 million to HKD 50 million recorded 3,131 and 460 transactions, achieving 88.9% and 85.5% of last years totals, respectively. Consequently, the share of these transactions increased by 6.5 and 0.9 percentage points to 23.7% and 3.5%, reaching the highest levels in five and six years, respectively. Transactions for primary properties priced between HKD 5 million and HKD 10 million recorded 7,879, equating to 79.0% of last years total, and their share approached 60%, recording 59.6%, up 11 percentage points, achieving a six-year high. However, this year, transactions for primary lower-priced properties (HKD 5 million and below) accounted for only 23.5% of last years total, underperforming against the overall market, leading to a significant drop in their share from nearly 30% to just 10%, a decrease of 18.4 percentage points. As the property market improves and prices continue to rise, developers are shifting their sales strategy from low-price promotions aimed at volume to prioritizing price. New developments are gradually increasing in price, and this years primary offerings focus mainly on mid-to-high-priced properties, causing the proportion of primary lower-priced properties to fall to a five-year low since 2021. During the peak of the property market in 2021, the proportion of primary low-priced properties was only 10%. As for transactions of primary properties above HKD 50 million, they accounted for 63.9% of last years totals, maintaining a relatively stable share around 2.8% for three consecutive years.