Home sales in Hong Kong dropped last month to the lowest level in 17 years as the worsening global financial crisis scared away buyers.

Only 3,786 properties were sold for a total consideration of HK$10.65 billion, according to the Land Registry. This was even worse than the property market's last big downturn during the Sars outbreak of 2003.

Home purchases plummeted 37.46 per cent from 6,054 deals in October and were 79.09 per cent fewer than the 18,105 deals reached in November last year.

South China Morning Post