Senior Investor Peter Chan Ching-pan: Falling Second-Hand Transaction Volumes Sound Alarm for Hong Kong Property Market

Senior property investor Peter Chan Ching-pan said the biggest problem facing Hong Kong's property market is a clear drop in second-hand transaction volumes, with some owners eager to sell needing to slash prices substantially to offload their flats, and the market has sounded an alarm. The Rating and Valuation Department's property price index rose nearly 8% in the first half of this year but has flattened since the second half. He predicted that if Hong Kong banks follow the United States in raising interest rates sharply over the coming months, property prices could test last year's first-quarter lows.