Hong Kong analysts reverse bullish forecasts in U-turn for property market as home sales plunge to near zero amid worsening Covid-19 outbreak
- Home prices may fall by 5 per cent in 2022, according to the property consultant Colliers, the most dramatic change among analysts surveyed by the Post
- Home prices will remain under pressure at least in the near term, according to the consensus of respondents, even if most of them kept their forecasts for the full year
Hong Kong’s home prices could drop 10 per cent in the first half, as the city’s worsening Covid-19 outbreak caused the first three months to be a washout for property sales, forcing analysts to reverse their forecasts.
Home prices may fall by 5 per cent in 2022, according to the property consultant Colliers, as it reversed its earlier forecast of a 3-per cent gain in mass-market homes, and a 5-per cent increase in the luxury market.
Collier’s reversal is the most dramatic change among four property consultants, three real estate agencies, a mortgage referral agency and an academic researcher surveyed by South China Morning Post, as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 debilitated most business and retail operations in the city’s so-called fifth infection wave.
Home prices will remain under pressure at least in the near term, according to the consensus of the respondents, even if most of them maintained their optimistic forecasts for the full year.
