Hong Kong's mortgage loans dropped 6.7% to $13.5b

Primary market deals rocketed 67.5%.

According to the Monetary Authority, mortgage loan approvals in September fell 6.7% compared with August, to $13.5 billion.

Among approved mortgage loans, those financing primary market transactions rose 67.5% to $2.8 billion, while those for secondary market transactions dropped 17.4% to $8.1 billion. Mortgage loans for refinancing also dropped 12.3% to $2.6 billion.

Mortgage loans drawn down during the month increased 1.3% month-on-month, to $11.6 billion.

The number of mortgage applications in September fell 6.4% month-on-month, to 7, 526.

New mortgage loans priced with reference to best lending rates increased from 69.9% in August to 72.7% in September, with the majority priced within the range of 2% and 2.25%. Those priced with reference to HIBOR decreased from 27.9% to 25.6%.

The outstanding value of mortgage loans increased month-on-month by 0.1% to $900.3 billion at the end of September.

The mortgage delinquency ratio remained unchanged at 0.02% and the rescheduled loan ratio remained unchanged at nearly 0%.