Hong Kong Lands Department: Zero approvals and zero applications for pre-sale of properties in May

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on June 5, the Hong Kong Lands Department announced that there were also no approvals or applications for pre-sale of new properties in May, that is, “zero approvals” or “zero applications”. This time, after recording zero applications and zero approvals in February 2022, this situation has reoccurred after a lapse of more than 3 years. Currently, there are 17 projects awaiting approval, involving 6,517 units. The number of units is the same as in April.

Zhang Qiaochu, managing director of Hongliang Consulting and Evaluation, said that the above situation is related to the current state of the real estate market. Currently, the inventory volume of new listings (at the end of the current building) exceeds 28,000 units, but in the past year, the volume of new listings was usually within 20,000 units, which indicates that inventory has not been absorbed by the market. In addition, buyers are currently dominating the market, and the public is inclined to have more existing buildings than flats, and even if developers apply for pre-sale of properties early, this does not mean they can sell them sooner, so the incentives for developers to apply for pre-sale properties have been reduced.

Chen Haichao, head of the Ricard Real Estate Research Department, believes that the related “zero approvals” and “zero applications” situation was affected by the intensification of the previous tariff war. The overall market was more conservative, so as to focus on inventory removal first and reduce the pressure on the Hong Kong property market. However, it is believed that with the recent recovery in market conditions, the easing of the tariff war and the decline in interest rates on property supply, and after a certain inventory is digested, the situation of zero approvals and zero applications will improve.