Hong Kong’s office workers may be putting in a few more hours in Central if they want to afford that home in Tuen Mun
Leading today’s Hong Kong real estate news, locals lucky enough to buy a new home will soon be spending an average of 70 percent of their monthly income on mortgage repayment, up from the previous 60 percent as mortgage rates rise, according to a local mortgage broker. Also in the headlines, the Lands Department is setting up a task force to crack down on squatters and lease violators, including adding another 60 people to police the city’s housing, and despite recent hikes in interest rates, the city’s fever for new housing showed no signs of breaking as buyers snapped up homes over the weekend. All these stories and more await you, if you just keep reading.
Homeowners to Spend 70% of Their Income on Mortgages
The monthly mortgage repayment of homeowners in Hong Kong is expected to rise to 70 per cent of their monthly income by the end of this year – the highest level in nearly two decades – as mortgage rates kick upwards and home prices show no signs of abating, according to mReferral Mortgage Brokerage Services.
At present, the affordability ratio – monthly mortgage instalment to median salary income of families living in private flats – was 60 per cent, indicating that Hong Kong home prices were hardly affordable, said Sharmaine Lau Yuen-yuen, chief marketing officer at mReferral Mortgage Brokerage Services. Read more>>
Lands Department to Set up Task Force to Check Illegal Occupation
Poisonous snakes, verbal threats and packs of wild dogs – these are just some of the obstacles that frontline government officials have had to deal with when tackling cases of illegal occupation of public land and land lease violations in Hong Kong.
To step up enforcement, the Lands Department said it would set up a special duties task force, similar to the police’s crime squad, this year with additional manpower of 60 officials to target more serious violations. Read more>>
Developers Respond to Vacancy Tax Proposal
Sun Hung Kai Properties’s unsold units that have obtained Certificate of Compliance are fewer than 1,000, meaning that its vacancy situation is not serious, according to Victor Lui, Deputy Managing Director at Sun Hung Kai.
Henderson Land told media that government’s defining vacant flats as those which have already been granted Certificate of Compliance is acceptable. Read more>>
South Bay Flat Sold for a HK$6.6M Loss
A 2,200-square-foot flat in Belgravia at 57 South Bay Road recently sold for HK$66.3 million, with the seller taking a HK$6.6 million hit on the transaction, according to the Land Registry. The property in the southern district sold at HK$30,000 per sq ft. The seller had bought the home with two parking spaces for HK$72.9 million in 2009, or HK$33,000 per sq ft.
Meanwhile, in the western district on Hong Kong Island, a duplex apartment in Kensington Hill in Sai Ying Pun recently sold for HK$114 million, or HK$50,000 per sq ft. The 2,277-sq-ft home is located on the top floor, with a rooftop deck. Read more>>
Higher Interest Fails to Cool Hong Kong Home Fever
Homebuyers in Hong Kong rushed to buy flats on Friday and Saturday in the city’s first two sales after the US raised interest rates, indicating no dip in the buoyant and expensive local property market.As of 5pm on Saturday, all 119 units on offer, priced between HK$4.7 million (US$600,000) and HK$10.8 million after discounts, were sold out in Henderson Land Development’s Cetus.Square Mile project in Mong Kok. Read more>>
Tune in again later for more Hong Kong news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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