Refinancing loans drive up mortgages by 26.9% in August

Mortgages for financing new homes or primary market transactions fell 19.8%.

Residential mortgage loans extended in Hong Kong rose by 26.9% in August to HK$35.6b, according to data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Demand was driven by loans for refinancing, which saw a whopping 86.9% rise to HK$16.6b during the month.

This offset the 19.8% decrease in mortgage loans for financing primary market transactions, to just $4.7b.

Mortgages for financing secondary market transactions, meanwhile, rose 7.6% to HK$14.4b.

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Mortgage loans drawn down during the month dipped 20.5% to HK$20.9b.

The number of mortgage applications in August stood at 8,617, representing a month-on-month increase of 6.6%.