Is Hong Kong's retail property market finally recovering?

Sales were up 77.6% to 870 transactions in May.

Hong Kong’s retail sales continued to recover, rising 0.5% year on year in May, the third consecutive month of positive growth, according to Knight Frank.

The “Jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts” category also recorded retail sales growth for the third month in a row, gaining 1.4% year on year in May, stronger than the overall year-on year-growth of 0.5%.

Here's more from Knight Frank:

Visitor arrivals have also been rising since March, led by the growth in visitors from the Chinese Mainland. It is noteworthy that the number of overnight Mainland visitors, who spend more than sameday visitors, recorded double-digit year-on-year growth of 12.6% in March and 10.3% in May, while in April the figure was up 2.8%.

The retail property sales market has also improved, recording 870 transactions during the first five months of 2017, up 77.6% compared with the same period last year. Prime street shop prices, as a result, edged up 2.5% during the first half of 2017.

The local retail market is expected to continue to recover. Along with the lease expiry and renewal of retail units taken up during the heyday of the retail market before 2014, leasing transactions in the coming months will see narrower rental consessions. The timing of a market rebound hinges on what steps the new govenrment takes to strategically boost visitor arrivals and retail sales in the coming years.