HONG KONG, 26 May 2009 – GoHome.com.hk (www.gohome.com.hk), Hong Kong’s No. 1 property website and part of the iProperty.com Group (www.iproperty.com), reveals the results of its latest survey on the real estate market, which show that the majority of Hong Kong property hunters feel that there is a property surplus in Hong Kong and that most selling prices are unrealistically high given current market conditions.
Results of three separate polls, which were carried out between 11 February and 14 April 2009 in three countries – Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia – reveal that all three countries carry similar sentiments, with majority of respondents opining that there is a surplus of properties in their respective markets and that buyers are interested in properties but are holding back because asking prices are too high.
Poll 1: Do you think there is a property surplus in Hong Kong?
- Out of the total 280 respondents who participated in the first poll, 55.7% felt that there is a property surplus in Hong Kong while the remaining 44.3% felt otherwise.
Chart 1: Hong Kong, poll results
Poll 2: Are you planning to buy property in the near future?
- Out of the total 444 respondents, 26.1% said that they might buy properties but are waiting for prices to fall further while 6.1% felt that it is a great time for bargain hunting.
- Another 22.3% expressed interest in buying properties but cannot afford to while 20.7% are considering it.
- 24.8% are not interested in buying properties in the near future.
Chart 2: Hong Kong, poll results
From the results, it is safe to conclude that there is still a lot of demand for properties, with many buyers still on the lookout for great bargains. However, compared to Singapore and Malaysia, Hong Kongers are less enthusiastic with 24.8% of buyers not having any interest in purchasing properties. In spite of that, the 22.3% of respondents who want to buy but cannot afford should look forward to more affordable properties in the near future.
According to Executive Chairman of the iProperty.com Group, Patrick Grove, one can expect the number of transactions to increase as the gap closes with sellers eventually bringing down prices in order to sell their properties.
“Sellers will eventually lower asking prices when properties have been on the market for too long and the more desperate sellers will definitely do so to realise cash for other needs. On top of that, there is a huge supply coming onto the market and this will put downward pressure on property prices. Bargain hunters will definitely snap up good deals during this period,” says Grove.
GoHome.com.hk is Hong Kong’s No.1 property website and part of the iProperty.com Group, Asia’s leading network of property portals. In addition to the speed and convenience of the internet, GoHome.com.hk provides consumers with a greatly enhanced property hunting experience via a comprehensive range of features and property hunting tools. These include a powerful search function; a large database of the latest listings complemented by photos, videos, virtual tours and Google maps; email alerts; a large pool of useful resources and guides, and building reviews. On top of that, it regularly carries out surveys and polls to collate useful data for its consumers, as an added value for property hunters and sellers alike.
iProperty.com online polls and surveys are conducted across three countries – Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore – on a regular basis. These polls pose questions that elicit market sentiment in these three key Asian markets in the real estate industry. The results of iProperty.com’s online polls and surveys are relevant, current and reflective of the market as it reaches a wide audience with its large volume of traffic website and unique visitors.
About GoHome network (www.gohome.com.hk)
The GoHome network is Hong Kong’s No.1 real estate portal both in terms of number of listings and user traffic, as measured by ComScore. Over 578,000 unique users view the network’s property listings each month. The GoHome sites, which are Chinese language based but also available in English, reach over 45% of all unique Hong Kong internet users looking for property online each month, a result that is more than four and a half times better than our nearest competitor.
Since our establishment in 1999, GoHome’s purpose is to provide objective, up-to-date and useful information and services for home seekers and to provide a cost effective marketing channel for agencies and property owners to attract potential buyers and renters. In September 2001, GoHome merged with House18 to form the largest one-stop property and home related portal in Hong Kong. GoHome is now part of the iProperty.com Group.
About iProperty.com (www.iproperty.com)
The iProperty.com Group is Asia’s No. 1 online property group, with leading property websites in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and the Philippines. It is part of Australian Securities Exchange-listed IPGA Limited (www.ipgalimited.com), (ASX: IPP). In 2009, the iProperty.com Group made history by winning the highly prestigious CNBC Arabiya Asia Pacific Property Awards in the “Best Property Portal” category for six of its websites –Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Philippines and iLuxuryasia.com.
iProperty.com Network:
Singapore: iProperty.com Singapore
Malaysia: iProperty.com Malaysia
Hong Kong: GoHome.com.hk and House18.com
Taiwan: VRHOUSE.com.tw
India: iProperty.com India
Philippines: iProperty.com Philippines
Events: iProperty.com EXPO
Luxury: iLuxuryasia.com
For media queries, please contact:
Foo Chia Chern (Ms)
Mobile: +6012 3151 321
DID: +603 2297 0895
Email: chern@iproperty.com
Chris Cheung (Ms)
Mobile: +6016 6031 271
DID: +603 2297 0873
Email: chris@iproperty.com
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