Hong Kong Property Market Crisis Deepens as Negative Equity Cases Hit 19-Year High

High interest rates and political uncertainty in Hong Kong is likely to cause prime residential prices to fall more than 10 percent this year.

Hong Kong's number of residential mortgage loans in negative equity in late 2023 has surged to 25,000, a record high in nearly 19 years. Ruth Lee/The Epoch Times

With Hong Kong’s property prices falling faster than expected in 2023, the issue of negative equity has drawn renewed attention. The number of residential mortgage loans in negative equity in late 2023 has surged to 25,000, a record high in nearly 19 years.

On Jan. 31, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released the latest survey results on residential mortgage loans in negative equity at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023. The number of residential mortgage loans in negative equity increased from 11,123 at the end of the third quarter of 2023 to 25,163 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, reaching a nearly 19-year high, with a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14,040 cases or 1.26 times.