The Zhitong Finance App learned that Weng Hongxiang, Director of Operations and Director of the Commerce Department of Midland Industries, said that although the Federal Reserve has yet to officially implement interest rate cuts, the Hong Kong government recently introduced a number of favorable policies to promote the development of the real estate industry. The three major notable measures include restarting investment immigration, easing mortgage regulations, and comprehensive “spooky.” Among them, the first two policies will directly stimulate the commercial store market.

The annual commercial and commercial turnover increased by 20% year-on-year

Weng Hongxiang pointed out that residential properties have directly benefited from a comprehensive “anti-corruption” policy, and first-hand residential transactions have risen even more sharply. The Group believes that public confidence has been restored. Coupled with all the bad news, it is believed that commercial transactions have bottomed out. The new policy is expected to further attract capital flows to “fall behind” in other properties, improving the overall investment climate. It is expected that the commercial store market will turn its trend. It is expected that 4,550 commercial store transactions will be recorded this year, increasing by about 20% year on year. However, this year's trading volume is still only about a quarter of the peak period, and commercial store prices will still be under pressure.

Last year, due to unclear interest rate trends, only 3,843 commercial transactions were recorded in 2023, a new low in 3 years; in the first quarter of this year, the commercial store market continued the weak situation at the end of 2023. As of March 20 this year, the total volume of commercial and commercial transactions in the first quarter was 602 (including corporate transfers over 100 million yuan), a year-on-year decrease of about 25.3%. The transaction amount recorded 16.191 billion yuan, an increase of about 20.4% year-on-year.

Chen Weizhi, director of Midland Industries and Commerce, said that in the first quarter of this year, the overall turnover of industrial buildings recorded 310 cases, a year-on-year decrease of 22.3%; the overall turnover of industrial buildings was 2,507 billion yuan, down 10.5% from year to year.

Commercial building rental prices are expected to remain stable

Weng Hongxiang pointed out that in the first quarter of this year, the commercial building market recorded a total of 128 transactions, down about 20.5% from year to year, but the transaction amount recorded 7.644 billion yuan, a sharp increase of about 67.3% year over year, mainly due to the recording of a huge transaction from Yingji Building in Central during the period. In terms of commercial building sales prices, the overall sales price of Building A in the first two months of this year surpassed that of Building A. The indicator showed that the average price of Building B increased by about 1.8%, but the average price of Building A decreased by about 3.1%. However, the recent “volume increase and price drop” situation in the Jiaxia market is believed to be due to the fact that some owners in Jiaxia decided to lower their bid prices in a quiet environment to speed up the process of property cashing out, so the relevant properties were accepted by buyers.

Weng Hongxiang also pointed out that although the supply of commercial buildings peaked in 2023, the future supply of commercial buildings will still be high. It is believed that it will be difficult to repeat the sharp rise in commercial building rental prices in the past. It is expected that overall commercial building rental prices will remain stable at the current level this year.

Chen Weizhi said that the government mentioned in the budget that the first batch of buildings in the Hetao Port Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park will be put into operation one after another by the end of the year, and work to attract investment and talent has already begun. He anticipates that the relevant policies are expected to drive the New Territories to become a core location for innovation and technology in Hong Kong, and that the industrial building property market is expected to benefit, in particular to bring more demand for leasing or trading for industrial building owners.

The food stall market is affected by interest rates and policies

Liang Guowen, director of Midland Store, pointed out that the overall sales volume of the store in the first quarter was 164, a year-on-year decrease of 33.3%; the overall turnover of the store was 6.04 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.6% year-on-year. In terms of store transactions in the first quarter, the main transactions in the market all involved large consortiums buying pedestal shopping malls. I believe the relevant factors reflect that the consortium is optimistic that the market price gradually bottomed out before interest was cut, so it entered the market. In terms of shop rental transactions, restaurants have become the most important new tenants, with transactions spanning core retail areas or livelihood areas. It is expected that the store market will benefit from two major factors in the second half of the year. They are the start of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and the gradual effects of the mainland and Hong Kong policies.

The central government earlier approved the expansion of free travel cities, allowing registered residents of Xi'an and Qingdao to visit Hong Kong, and the Development Bureau also stated that it would select suitable locations on the Victoria Harbour waterfront to attract commercial facilities such as restaurants, retail and entertainment in a pilot manner. Leung Kwok-man believes that relevant measures can have a positive effect on the market. Recently, investors in Tsim Sha Tsui District have entered the market to buy stores. It is expected that the policy will benefit local retail consumption.

Leung Kwok-man pointed out that the URA announced the launch of the “Laundry Street/Flower Market Road Redevelopment Plan” earlier, and the project is expected to be completed from 2035 to 2036. He is optimistic that after reconstruction and revitalization, it is expected that the overall quality of the district will be improved, and that larger businesses can be introduced, which is expected to help the district's rental and sales prospects.