(Yicai) Aug 6 -- Sales of luxury homes in Hong Kong jumped in the first half of this year, amid promotions by real estate developers and government stimulus policies.

The number of luxury residential properties that sold for more than HKD20 million (USD2.57 million) reached a two-and-a-half-year high in the six months ended June 30, according to data Centaline Property Agency released yesterday.

Some 1,577 such homes changed hands, a 1.3-fold increase on the second half of 2023, said Yang Mingyi, senior associate research director at Centaline. By value, sales surged 54 percent to HKD70.651 billion (USD9 billion).

In the same period, 957 deals were signed for new up-market homes, setting a three-year high and almost equaling the total number for the whole of last year. There were 620 transactions for second-hand luxury homes, a 71 percent leap on the previous six months.

Yang said the premium market has seen a notable boost from government policies and price promotions among property developers.

On Feb. 28, Hong Kong announced that residential property sales would no longer be subject to additional stamp duties, buyers' stamp duties, and new residency stamp duties. Industry insiders also pointed to the raising of the mortgage cap to 70 percent for own-use residential properties valued at less than HKD30 million. This boosted sales of homes valued at between HKD20.01 million and HKD30 million, they said.

According to Centaline data, in the first half, 342 transactions were recorded for second-hand properties valued at between HKD20.01 million and HKD30 million, accounting for 55 percent of the registrations for second-hand properties valued at over HKD20 million. This represents a 7 percentage point increase compared with the second half of 2023.

During the same period, pre-owned properties valued at between HKD30.01 million and HKD50 million and those valued at more than HKD50 million logged 195 and 83 transactions respectively, accounting for 31 percent and 13 percent. The former was unchanged compared with the previous six months, while the latter fell 9 points.

Yang noted that a significant amount of purchasing power has already been absorbed in the first half amid the decline in prices. But banks have tightened mortgage lending, and it is estimated that the number of luxury property registrations will decrease in the second half.

Editor: Tom Litting