Hong Kong's mortgage loans fell 25.1% to $16.2b

As mortgage applications dropped 28.4%.

According to the Monetary Authority, mortgage loans approved in April were down 25.1% month-on-month to $16.2 billion.

In its residential mortgage survey results for April, the authority said mortgage loans drawn down in April dropped 19.4% month-on-month, to $15 billion.

The number of mortgage applications in April fell 28.4% month-on-month, to 7,370.

Among the mortgage loans approved, those for primary-market transactions fell 11% to $4.6 billion, and secondary-market transactions decreased 36.9% to $8.2 billion. Mortgage loans for refinancing dipped 1.4% to $3.4 billion.

About 84.6% of the new mortgage loans approved were priced with reference to best lending rates, with the largest portion in the price range of 2% to 2.25%. The portion of new mortgage loans priced with reference to HIBOR increased from 10.7% in March to 11.8% in April.