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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the results of the residential mortgage survey for May 2013.
Mortgage loans drawn down during May decreased by 3.4% compared with April to HK$14.5 billion.
Mortgage loans approved in May decreased by 4.6% compared with April to HK$15.5 billion. Among these, mortgage loans financing primary market transactions decreased by 28.3% to HK$3.3 billion and those financing secondary market transactions increased by 14.2% to HK$9.4 billion. Mortgage loans for refinancing decreased by 18.1% to HK$2.8 billion.
The number of mortgage applications in May increased by 17.8% month-on-month to 8,681. The figures reflect an increase in residential property transaction volume.
New mortgage loans priced with reference to best lending rates decreased from 84.6% in April to 78.9% in May, with majority priced within the range of 2% and 2.5%. New mortgage loans priced with reference to HIBOR increased from 11.8% in April to 16.2% in May.
The outstanding value of mortgage loans increased month-on-month by 0.5% to HK$892.7 billion at end-May.
The mortgage delinquency ratio increased slightly from 0.01% in April to 0.02% in May. The rescheduled loan ratio remained unchanged at nearly 0%.
Ends/Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:59
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