Sharp Rise Expected In Hong Kong Mortgage Approvals This Year

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

29 July 2004

The value of residential mortgage loans approved in Hong Kong is expected to jump 117% this year after a 63% rise in the first five months, according to a report in The Standard.

With expectations of a pick-up in the real estate market in the latter half of 2004, Ricacorp Mortgage Agency director and general manager Hendrick Leung expects new loans approved from June to December to reach HK$76.1 billion, the report stated.

The value of mortgage loans approved increased to HK$62.3 billion in the first five months of 2004 against a figure of HK$28.7 billion in the same period last year, and in number terms Leung expects 90,088 new loans to be approved, up 32% on last year.

However, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s monthly survey of residential mortgage lending, the level of activity in the residential mortgage loan market in June was similar to that of May, when loan approvals fell 6.3 per cent to HK$11.62 billion.

The HKMA monthly figures show that new loans drawn down during June rose by 0.4% to HK$10.5 billion, whilst new approvals increased by 1.4% in value terms to HK$11.8 billion and by 3.1% in number terms to 7,880 cases.

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