Citi Hong Kong Releases Results of Second Quarter 2019 Residential Property Ownership Survey

More than 70% of the respondents said it is not a good time to purchase a home now

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HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 18 July 2019 - Citi Hong
Kong announced today the results of its survey on residential property
ownership in Hong Kong for Q2 2019. The survey found that over 70% of the respondents felt that it is a bad
or terrible time to purchase a home now. The expectations of the respondents on
the trend of home prices are similar to those in the previous quarter. Many local
residents are expecting a rise in home prices in the next 12 months. Respondents’
interest in home purchase has not been completely affected, with a quarter of
respondents expressing a very or rather strong interest in buying a property
now.

 

More than 70% of the
respondents said it is not a good time to purchase a home now

71% of the respondents felt that it is a bad or terrible time to
purchase a home in Q2 2019. More than 70% of the young respondents aged between
21 and 29 felt that it is not a good time to purchase a home. 2% of the
respondents in Q2 2019 felt that it is a good or excellent time to purchase a
home, down from 4% in Q1 2019.

 

If you do not own any property now, taking into consideration your current standard of living and family finances, do you think it is a good time to purchase a home now?
	Percentage of Respondents
	Q1  2018	Q2  2018	Q3 2018	Q4 2018	Q1  2019	Q2 2019
A good/excellent time to purchase	3%	3%	2%	4%	4%	2%
Neutral	28%	24%	24%	29%	39%	27%
A bad/terrible time to purchase	69%	73%	74%	67%	57%	71%

Base: All Respondents

Respondents’
expectations on the trend of home prices are similar to those in the previous
quarter

The expectations of
local citizens on the trend of home prices have reversed in Q1 2019. More
respondents are expecting that the home prices in Hong Kong will rise in the
next 12 months. The expectations of the respondents on the trend of home prices
in Q2 2019 are similar to those in the previous quarter, with 28% of the respondents
expecting the home prices to fall in the next 12 months, while 36% of them
expecting the home prices to rise in the next 12 months.

 

How do you think home prices will trend in the next 12 months?
	Percentage of Respondents
	Q1  2018	Q2  2018	Q3 2018	Q4 2018	Q1  2019	Q2 2019
Upward	64%	69%	38%	18%	42%	36%
Flat	25%	22%	33%	25%	35%	36%
Downward	12%	9%	29%	57%	24%	28%

Base:
All Respondents

Nearly a quarter of young respondents are still
interested in purchasing a home

Many local citizens are expecting a rise in home prices in the future
without completely affecting the interest of respondents in buying homes. 25%
of the respondents expressed a very or rather strong interest in buying a
property in Q2 2019, still representing a high percentage in recent years. Nearly
a quarter of the respondents aged between 21 and 29 have the same interest.

How interested are you in purchasing a property now?
Percentage of Respondents
	Q1  2018	Q2  2018	Q3 2018	Q4 2018	Q1  2019	Q2 2019
Very/rather interested	20%	19%	21%	18%	26%	25%
Neutral	31%	31%	33%	33%	29%	28%
Very/rather uninterested	49%	50%	46%	49%	45%	47%

Base:
All Respondents

Josephine Lee, Head of Retail Bank, Citibank
Hong Kong, said, “The results show that many local citizens are expecting that
the home prices will continue to rise, they still have certain interests in
buying a home. We recommend that potential home buyers should first measure
their home affordability, comprehensively assess their financial situation and
burden, and choose a suitable mortgage plan.”

 

Citibank commissioned The University of Hong Kong Social Sciences
Research Centre to conduct the survey, interviewing over 500 Hong Kong
respondents by phone in June 2019. Since 2010, Citibank has conducted a quarterly survey on the housing
market to assess the current state of homeownership in Hong Kong, gauge public opinion on the
subject of homeownership and public expectations in terms of future housing price
trends.

Source: Citibank Q2 2019
Residential Property Ownership Survey