Developers' aggressive marketing moves push property prices to stabilise

The offered discounts as much as 20%.

According to BMI Research, the stabilisation in real estate prices in Q216 can be attributed to the aggressive marketing techniques offered by developers such as Sun Hung Kai Properties and Cheung Kong Properties, which offered price discounts of as much as 20%.

In addition, they also have been providing potential buyers with the option of a home financing of around 120% of the value of the property, as long as buyers are able to offer another home as collateral.

These loans are normally short-term in nature (usually three years and carry an interest rate lower than a bank mortgage). As such, this has attracted buyers to jump back into the real estate market, particularly as expectations that the US Federal Reserve may delay further rate hikes in 2016 grow.

Such attempts by Hong Kong's property developers to prop up housing prices are likely to be short-lived, and we believe that the market has yet to find a
bottom. Hence, there is plenty of downside left for the territory's property market over the co