Heat Rises in Hong Kong Property Market
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HONG KONG—Real-estate transactions in Hong Kong have climbed sharply in recent days, fueled by the prospect of more quantitative easing in the U.S. and despite last week's fresh measures to cool the city's property market.
Hong Kong's average home prices have doubled over the last four years as rock-bottom interest rates encouraged real-estate speculation. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese investors, driven by a desire both to seek higher returns and to move their assets abroad, continue to snap up apartments in Hong Kong.
Ricacorp Properties recorded an 11% rise in transactions at 10 major housing complexes in Hong Kong over the weekend compared with the previous weekend. And on Tuesday, Midland Realty, one of the city's biggest realtors, said that 35 major housing complexes in Hong Kong reported a 12% rise in transaction volumes for the week of Sept. 10 to Sept. 16 compared with the previous week.
