Home buying on the mainland by Hong Kong residents dropped significantly last year because of the deteriorating market and the global financial crisis, property agents said.

Hongkongers bought 15,200 to 16,100 residential units on the mainland, a decline of 32.1% from 2007. Transaction value dropped 27.11 per cent to 12.1 billion yuan (HK$13.73bn) from 16.6 billion yuan, data from Land Power International shows.

Chairman Michael Choi Ngai-min expects the numbers to improve this year as Beijing's support measures boost market confidence while lower interest rates, down payments and prices made purchases more affordable.

South China Morning Post