Home Prices, Rents Go In Opposite Direction

Latest government figures showed private homes were getting slightly cheaper, whereas rents were becoming a little bit more expensive even though they still cost less than a year ago.

According to data released by the Rating and Valuation Department on Monday, the city-wide private domestic price indices eased to 384.8 in July from 386.7 in June.

The July figure also represented a 2.2 percent drop year on year.

But for the first seven months of the year, prices rose nearly 1.5 percent from 2019.

Buggle Lau, chief analyst at Midland Realty, said he believes the August price indices could go down further, dropping by as much as 1 percent. He said the July figures had not fully reflected the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the private home market.

Rents, meanwhile, have gone up for two straight months.

The city-wide rental indices climbed to 181.1 in July from 180.1 the month before.

But the July figure represented a 8.7 percent drop year on year and was down from the year's peak, at 185.5 in January.

Overall, private rents fell 4.5 percent in the first seven months of the year from a year ago.

Lau of Midland Realty pointed out that rents have traditionally remained high during the summer break, but said they may begin to head south afterwards.

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