Hong Kong Oct home prices drop 2.4%, biggest fall in 4 years

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong private home prices fell 2.4% in October, the biggest drop since November 2018, official data showed on Monday, dragged down by worsening market sentiment amid a pessimistic economic outlook.

The drop in home prices last month in one of the world’s most unaffordable housing markets followed a revised 2.1% fall in September. Home prices in the financial hub have fallen 10.5% in the first ten months of this year.

The property price index was at 352.4 in October, the lowest level since December 2017.

Rising mortgage costs and a bleak economic outlook have deepened pessimism among homeowners, while home prices for the full-year are expected to drop around 10%, the first fall since 2008.

Martin Wong, real estate consultancy Knight Frank Greater China head of research and consultancy, said he expects prices to fall 15% for the full year, and transaction volumes to slip 40% from last year to the lowest since 1997.

(Reporting by Clare Jim; editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)