Hong Kong commercial property market recovers confidence in early 2019
The stagnation experienced across Hong Kong’s commercial property market last year has eased, as confidence returns moving into 2019, according to an authoritative new report by the RICS (the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors).
Growth on the Chinese Mainland and a relaxation of trade war fears are chief among the factors helping the market towards stability, according to the recently published Hong Kong Commercial Property Monitor.
RICS’s quarterly report surveys experts in the city’s sales and letting markets, who reported a substantial shift in market sentiment from negative to neutral forecasts. The Investment Sentiment Indices (ISI) — a measure of supply, demand and expectation — reported a jump to +3% in the first three months of 2019, from -13% in the last quarter of 2018, while the Occupier Sentiment Indices (OSI) recorded a similar increase from -18% to -1%.
Together these figures represent a relieving moment of stability following a turbulent period of market scepticism. The stabilisation comes as a number of external risks have been mediated, the report notes, identifying three key factors: Steps taken by the Chinese government to support Mainland growth, as well as a period of cooling in the US-China trade war, while global interest rate cycles have been put on hold.
The report’s author Sean Ellison, RICS senior economist for Asia-Pacific, said: “Survey respondents continue to signal a ‘soft landing’ for most commercial property markets. The market appears to be preparing for a period of below-trend, but generally positive, growth in capital values and rents, rather than a sharp contraction. However, the outlook is still clouded by uncertainties surrounding trade, and other macroeconomic risks.”
Yet looking ahead professionals reported no increase in commercial occupier demand — following a marked pullback in the final quarter of 2018 — despite an increase in both rental and landlord supply. Meanwhile experts forecast a modest rental growth of +1.6% across the commercial sector over the next 12 months, while capital values are expected to increase by 2.2% in the same period.
The RICS Hong Kong Commercial Property Monitor is a quarterly sentiment index tracking trends in the commercial property market. It is a leading indicator for global investment and occupier markets. The full report is available at www.rics.org/economics
