Hong Kong reports significant drop in residential mortgages in negative equity by June 2026.

Residential mortgage loans in negative equity: End of June 2026

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (July 31) the results of its survey on residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in negative equity at end-June 2026.

The estimated number of RMLs in negative equity was 4 356 cases at end-June 2026, down by 61.9 per cent from 11 424 cases at end-March 2026. These cases were mainly related to bank staff housing loans or RMLs under mortgage insurance programme, which generally have a higher loan-to-value ratio.

The aggregate value of RMLs in negative equity decreased by 64.4per cent to HK$19.6 billion at end-June 2026, compared with HK$55 billion at end-March 2026.

The unsecured portion of these loans decreased to HK$0.9 billion at end-June 2026 from HK$2.8 billion at end-March 2026.

The three-month delinquency ratio of RMLs in negative equity increased to 1.25per cent at end-June 2026 from 0.5per cent at end-March 2026, as the aggregate value of RMLs in negative equity fell at a faster pace than the aggregate value of delinquent RMLs in negative equity.

It is important to note that the figures derived from this survey relate only to RMLs provided by authorised institutions on the basis of first mortgages and which the reporting institution knows to be in negative equity (i.e. the outstanding loan amount with the reporting institution exceeds the current market value of the mortgaged property). Not included in these figures are RMLs associated with co-financing schemes which would be in negative equity if the second mortgages were taken into account. The extent to which such RMLs are in negative equity is not known because authorised institutions do not maintain records on the outstanding balances of the second mortgages.

The mortgage portfolios of the surveyed authorised institutions represent about 99per cent of the industry total. The survey results have been extrapolated to estimate the position of the banking sector as a whole.

Source: AI-found images

Thematic Household Survey Report No. 87 published

The Thematic Household Survey Report No. 87 is published by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today (July 31).

This publication contains key findings on health, elderly care and social inclusion in respect of Hong Kong elderly population based on the Thematic Household Survey conducted from April to August 2024.

The survey results showed that 14.1% of persons aged 65 and over had feelings of loneliness during the week before enumeration in 2024. In the same year, 3.6% of persons aged 65 and over had received community support or care services for the elderly during the 12 months before enumeration.

Among all persons aged 65 and over, 76.3% had a preference for ageing in place in the coming 2 years, whereas 2.6% preferred residential care in the coming 2 years; and 21.1% had not yet decided.

The majority of elderly persons had maintained contacts with persons living apart. In 2024, 95.8% of persons aged 65 and over had contacted family members, relatives or friends living apart during the 3 months before enumeration. Among those having contacts with family members or relatives living apart, over 40% had contacted family members or relatives living apart at least once a week, while another 40% had such contacts at least once a month but less than once a week.

Other information

The survey successfully enumerated target respondents in some 10 100 households in accordance with a scientific sampling scheme to represent the population of Hong Kong.

Detailed findings of the survey, together with the population coverage and concepts/definitions of key terms, are presented in the publication. Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1130201&scode=453).

Enquiries about the survey findings can be directed to the Social Surveys Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 3863 2622 or email: thematic@censtatd.gov.hk).