Hong Kong’s mortgage market began showing signs of recovery in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the number of active mortgage accounts rising 3.6% year-on-year, according to a report by TransUnion.
The increase points to a gradual rebound in the housing sector and growing borrower confidence. Weihan Sun, principal of research and consulting for Asia Pacific at TransUnion, said mortgage activity is improving steadily and could see further growth as borrowing becomes more affordable under the lower base-rate environment set by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Housing market activity has also strengthened. Transactions for primary residences more than doubled in the third quarter of 2025, whilst private secondary residential deals climbed 55% year-on-year, based on figures from Centaline Property.
TransUnion noted that lenders could better capture mortgage or refinancing opportunities by analysing broader consumer borrowing, repayment, and leverage patterns.
Elsewhere in the credit market, unsecured personal loan accounts edged up 0.9% year-on-year in Q4 2025, with outstanding balances increasing 2.9%. The auto loan segment also expanded, with originations rising 28.2% year-on-year in the third quarter, reflecting stronger demand for vehicle financing.
The rise in car purchases may partly be linked to the government’s One-for-One replacement scheme, which is set to end on 31 March 2026 and supports the city’s plan to phase out new registrations of fuel-powered vehicles—including hybrids—by 2035 or earlier.
Electric vehicle adoption has also accelerated. Data from the Hong Kong Electric Vehicle Database shows that 9,125 EVs were sold in the third quarter of 2025, nearly double the 5,582 sold during the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, the credit card market saw the number of cards in circulation decline by 1.5% year-on-year, although outstanding balances rose 2.5%. Average credit limits slipped 3.4% as inactive or closed accounts were phased out, TransUnion added.
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