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Rabu, 20 Mei 2020 05:28:00

Citi Hong Kong Releases Results of First Quarter 2020 Residential Property Ownership Survey

10% of respondents believe now is a good time to buy property, the highest percentage in nine years as respondents consider impact of COVID-19

HONG KONG, - 18 May 2020 - Citi Hong Kong conducted a survey on the impact of COVID-19 on residential property ownership in Hong Kong in Q1 2020, gauging respondents' attitude towards residential property ownership before and during COVID-19. According to the survey:
 
During COVID-19, 52% of the respondents said they were very / rather uninterested in property ownership, similar to the level of interest recorded before COVID-19;
During COVID-19, 57% of the respondents expect home prices to fall in the next 12 months, representing a sharp increase of 15 percentage points from before COVID-19;
10% of the respondents considered it a perfect time to buy a home at this moment, the highest percentage in 9 years. In contrast, more than half of the respondents did not consider it a perfect time to buy a home now, showing a decrease of 13 percentage points though compared with the percentage of respondents holding this view before COVID-19;
Only 6.1% of property owners  were willing to sell their property at a 10% discount or more during COVID-19
Property price expected to be 7.5% lower by year end, with a slightly less impact than in SARS period
 
Amid COVID-19, in March 2020, 52% of the respondents were very / rather uninterested in purchasing a property, compared with 17% of the respondents with a keen / rather keen interest in purchasing a property. The figures are similar to those recorded before COVID-19, showing little change in the interest of home purchase among the respondents amid COVID-19.
 
However, 57% of the respondents surveyed during COVID-19 expected home prices in Hong Kong to fall in the next 12 months. This represents a sharp increase of 15 percentage points compared with the percentage seen before COVID-19 in January, reflecting an overall increase in the percentage of respondents holding a bearish view on the property market. Benchmarked against a 10% decline in property prices witnessed during the SARS period in 2003, the survey collected the views of respondents on the trend of the property market amid COVID-19.

The results show that the respondents expected a median decline in property prices of 7.5% from the beginning to the end of the current year, and with the largest expected drop of 10%, reflecting the perception of the COVID-19 in 2020 as having a slightly less impact on the property market than the SARS period in 2003. However, 24% of the respondents expected their household finances to worsen in the coming year, doubled the number of respondents holding this view compared with the same period of the previous year.
 
Despite the bearish view on the property market and the fact that more than half of the respondents in the January and March 2020 surveys considered it a bad / terrible time to purchase a home at this moment, the number of respondents sharing this view during COVID-19 in March fell by 13 percentage points compared with the figure recorded in January before COVID-19. This compares with 10% of the respondents who considered now a good / excellent time to purchase a home, up 100% from the figure seen before COVID-19 and representing the highest percentage in 9 years of respondents holding this view.
 
The above results show that the respondents are looking favorably on the timing of home purchase amid the COVID-19 global challenge, despite lingering concerns about a fall in property prices and their finances in the future. This has resulted in a continuation of the relatively low level of interest in property ownership. (*).