HONG KONG’S home prices snapped three months of decline in January, official data showed yesterday, starting 2021 with a modest gain amid a jump in launches and optimism that new vaccines will speed up the economic recovery.

Private home prices in one of world’s most expensive markets climbed 0.13 percent last month, according to the data, compared with a revised 0.3 percent drop in December.

Prices still rose 0.08 percent in the full year of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, barely extending a run of increases dating back to 2009 when prices were only a third of the current level.

Home transactions accelerated in February, as the financial center stabilizes from a new wave of coronavirus infections that started in November.

According to realtor data, developers have launched more than 2,000 new flats so far this year, over 60 percent more than a year ago.

Property developers have also cast their vote of confidence in the property market by participating more actively in land auctions and offering higher bids this year.

A consortium led by Wharf Holdings won a premium land parcel at the Peak for a record floor price of US$7,000 per square foot earlier this month, while CK Asset won a mass residential site in Kowloon for US$1.33 billion last week.

Realtors generally expect home prices to stay sluggish in 2021 until vaccines are made widely available in the second half of the year, with the full year seeing up to a 5 percent gain.

Hong Kong’s economy is expected to expand by 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent this year, compared with a 6.1 percent contraction in 2020, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said yesterday.(SD-Agencies)