mr funny
27-03-08, 10:50
Published March 27, 2008
HK home loans in Feb double to HK$23.5b
Demand surges as falling interest rates push borrowing costs to below inflation rate
(HONG KONG) Hong Kong's new mortgages more than doubled in February as falling interest rates and accelerating inflation fuelled demand for loans.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2008-03-27/BT_IMAGES_HKMORT27.jpg
Soaring heights: Property prices in Hong Kong have almost doubled since 2003 as the economy expanded
Banks in Hong Kong approved HK$23.5 billion (S$4.2 billion) of new mortgage loans in February, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said yesterday, from HK$10.4 billion a year ago. Property prices here have almost doubled since 2003 as the economy embarked on its longest expansion in more than a decade.
The city's biggest banks have cut interest rates seven times since September, pushing borrowing costs to below the rate of inflation and adding fuel to the property boom.
Home sales surged 61 per cent to 12,581 in February from a year earlier, the Land Registry said this month. Falling interest rates and faster inflation have increased the allure of property amid a 19 per cent drop in Hong Kong's main stock index this year.
Hong Kong's biggest banks, led by HSBC, last week lowered their so-called best lending rates by half a percentage point after the US Federal Reserve and the HKMA cut borrowing costs.
Hong Kong follows the US central bank's moves because its currency is pegged to the US dollar.
HSBC's benchmark Hong Kong lending rate is now 5.25 per cent, the lowest in three years. Banks typically offer mortgage borrowers discounts of at least 2.5 percentage points to their best lending rates.
Banks' delinquency ratio, or loans overdue for more than three months as a proportion of total borrowings, fell to 0.1 per cent in February from 0.18 per cent a year earlier. The value of outstanding loans rose 7.6 per cent to HK$569.9 billion. -- Bloomberg
HK home loans in Feb double to HK$23.5b
Demand surges as falling interest rates push borrowing costs to below inflation rate
(HONG KONG) Hong Kong's new mortgages more than doubled in February as falling interest rates and accelerating inflation fuelled demand for loans.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2008-03-27/BT_IMAGES_HKMORT27.jpg
Soaring heights: Property prices in Hong Kong have almost doubled since 2003 as the economy expanded
Banks in Hong Kong approved HK$23.5 billion (S$4.2 billion) of new mortgage loans in February, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said yesterday, from HK$10.4 billion a year ago. Property prices here have almost doubled since 2003 as the economy embarked on its longest expansion in more than a decade.
The city's biggest banks have cut interest rates seven times since September, pushing borrowing costs to below the rate of inflation and adding fuel to the property boom.
Home sales surged 61 per cent to 12,581 in February from a year earlier, the Land Registry said this month. Falling interest rates and faster inflation have increased the allure of property amid a 19 per cent drop in Hong Kong's main stock index this year.
Hong Kong's biggest banks, led by HSBC, last week lowered their so-called best lending rates by half a percentage point after the US Federal Reserve and the HKMA cut borrowing costs.
Hong Kong follows the US central bank's moves because its currency is pegged to the US dollar.
HSBC's benchmark Hong Kong lending rate is now 5.25 per cent, the lowest in three years. Banks typically offer mortgage borrowers discounts of at least 2.5 percentage points to their best lending rates.
Banks' delinquency ratio, or loans overdue for more than three months as a proportion of total borrowings, fell to 0.1 per cent in February from 0.18 per cent a year earlier. The value of outstanding loans rose 7.6 per cent to HK$569.9 billion. -- Bloomberg