Hong Kong is preparing to implement another round of property cooling measures to curb prices which have reached record highs since 2009.
John Tsang, Financial Secretary of the city-state, said that the property market was “abnormal”. He said that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will implement property measures shortly and the government will announce the land sale plan for the July-September period on Friday.
Record low interest rates, abundant liquidity and the influx of buyers from mainland China have fuelled home prices, which increased 24 percent in 2010 after climbing 30 percent in 2009. Local residents are urging the government to rein in property prices.
Meanwhile, a high-end residential site in the Mid-Levels district was sold for a lower-than-expected HK$11.65 billion at an auction last week, according to the Wall Street Journal, although the price was still the second highest paid at a land auction in Hong Kong.
Mr. Tsang noted that the government is highly concerned about an asset bubble in the city. He warned that buyers should be more careful, as prices already exceeded the peak during the asset bubble in 1997.
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