The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Thursday said the local property market showed signs of stabilising with transactions increasing steadily and prices rising marginally after the US Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates in September. With another quarter of a percentage point cut overnight, the Fed has cut interest rates by an accumulative 100 basis points since September. HKMA's chief executive Eddie Yue said a lower borrowing cost environment would be beneficial to the local economy and the real estate market, reducing the loan burden of home buyers. But he stressed there are many other factors affecting the economy and the housing market. He said whether local borrowing costs would drop further following the latest cut by the Fed would depend on local funding supply. "Banks will normally take into account factors like funding supply and demand in the interbank market, the level of interbank rates, and their own funding cost structure to assess the merits and extent of adjustment if there's any," Yue said. He called on borrowers to exercise caution as the future outlook on interest rate cuts remains uncertain. "Interest rates might still remain at a relatively high level for some time and the extent and pace of future interest rates cuts are subject to considerable uncertainty. The public should carefully assess and continue to manage the interest rate risk when making property purchase, mortgage or other borrowing decisions," he added. The HKMA reduced the base rate to 4.75 percent with immediate effect on Thursday according to the established mechanism.
