After several subdued years, 2025 marked a turning point for demand in Hong Kong’s most prestigious housing enclaves, as mainland buyers streamed back into scarce ultra-luxury homes once prices stabilised and transaction momentum rolled into the new year.
That shift was most visible in The Peak and Southern district – two low-density, ultra-wealthy neighbourhoods on opposite ends of Hong Kong Island. Mainland purchasers bought about HK$16 billion (US$2.05 billion) worth of homes in the areas in 2025, accounting for the vast majority of ultra-high-end transactions there, brokerage data showed.
The data is based on the use of Putonghua pinyin names in Land Registry records, although some buyers may be Hong Kong permanent residents.
The surge marked a clear turnaround for districts that had seen muted activity in recent years. The Peak and Southern district recorded 174 primary and secondary market transactions in 2025, with total deal value rising 21.2 per cent from a year earlier to HK$19.9 billion. That was the highest annual turnover since 2021, when transaction value peaked at HK$26.1 billion during the previous market high.
Big-ticket deals drove much of that rebound. The two districts logged 58 transactions worth more than HK$100 million in 2025, nearly double the level recorded in 2024. Mainland capital was behind 80 per cent of those nine-figure deals, underscoring the group’s dominance at the very top of the market.
The renewed buying coincided with prolonged weakness in mainland China’s property sector.
