Century Mortgage: Hong Kong October reverse mortgage registrations surge 94.3% month-on-month, hitting a near 7-year high

According to data from the Centaline Mortgage Research Department and the Hong Kong Land Registry, Hong Kong recorded 68 reverse mortgage registrations in October 2026, surging 94.3% month-on-month (33 cases) and hitting an 83-month (near 7-year) high; the first ten months of 2026 recorded 364 registrations, 56 more than the same period in 2025 (308 cases), an increase of 18.2% year-on-year. Regarding the over 90% month-on-month surge in reverse mortgage registrations in October, Wong Mei-fung, Managing Director of Centaline Mortgage, pointed out that since the reverse mortgage enhancement measures were introduced in March this year, monthly applications have rebounded significantly from the low of 42 cases in February, and have remained at over 100 cases for five consecutive months recentlya situation seen for the first time since the launch of reverse mortgages. In addition to the enhancement measures increasing the attractiveness of reverse mortgages, the increase in reverse mortgage applications this year is also due to home prices rising noticeably by 11% in the first half of the year, with prices broadly stable and consolidating so far in the second half, attracting property owners to apply for reverse mortgages while valuations are elevated to lock in more attractive annuities. The strong 90% increase in reverse mortgage registrations in October was mainly driven by the more active application volume in recent months compared with the past. In terms of reverse mortgage market share, BOC HONG KONG has consistently had the highest participation since the launch of the reverse mortgage scheme; of the 68 registrations in October 2026, all were underwritten by BOC HONG KONG. According to records for the first ten months of 2026, BOC HONG KONG ranked first with 359 registrations, a market share of approximately 98.6%; Shanghai Commercial Bank ranked second with 5 registrations, a market share of 1.4%.