-
9.
Buying remained concentrated in the primary market, where developers carried out intensive promotion with further price cuts and offer of more flexible payment
terms.
At the end of September, flat prices in selected major residential developments were about 24% lower than their peak level in April last year.
As more landlords put out their flats for lease in a slack sales market and as some tenants shifted to smaller flats, rentals for newly-leased large flats softened further.
Rentals for small to medium-sized flats nevertheless held stable during the quarter. Acquisition interest in office space remained subdued. The sales market hence remained quiet. The rental market for office space also softened.
On shopping space, both prices and rentals fell along with the slack retail business.
Many landlords were reported to have cut rentals and offered more lenient lease terms to attract tenants.
On industrial property, acquisition interest in old industrial buildings en bloc as well as industrial sites for redevelopment into modern multi-purpose industrial buildings was dampened by the subdued conditions in the property market. Leasing activity also continued to be sluggish. Thus prices and rentals for both flatted factory space and industrial-cum-office premises remained on a downtrend.
Inflation
Consumer price inflation in terms of the Consumer Price Index (A) eased further, from 9.5% in the first quarter to 9.2% in the second quarter and 8.6% in the third quarter (8.4% in October).
The CPI(B) and Composite CPI were likewise on a moderating trend.
The Hang Seng CPI however recorded a slightly faster increase in the third quarter than in the second quarter, mainly due to more rapid increases in the prices of higher-quality clothing items and in the rentals of large flats, which more than offset the slower increase in food prices.