According to the property market statistics issued by the Rating and Valuation Department today, the price index of Hong Kong private homes in July slipped to 376.1, marking the lowest figure since February 2020.

Besides, the private home price has dropped 4.52 percent so far this year, which offset the increase of around 3.69 percent for the whole of last year.

The price index of homes less than 100 square metres saw a drop of 1.7 percent from June to July this year - from 385.2 to 378.6 - while the declining figure for the home occupied more than 100 square metres is 0.13 percent, from 315.9 to 315.5.

On the other hand, the rental price of private property saw a rise of 0.62 percent in July with a figure of 178.9, the highest in five months.

However, the rental price has fallen by 2.1 percent this year.

"The fifth wave of the Covid-19 epidemic at the beginning of 2022 dealt a serious blow to Hong Kong's economy," said Kelvin Siu Ka-yim, the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation Department, in a review report of Hong Kong property.

"The Government is committed to closely monitoring the property market development as well as the evolving external environment and endeavouring to maintain a healthy development of the property market," he noted.

Financial chief Paul Chan Mo-po said the government has no plans to scrap cooling measures or intervene in the market regardless of short-term fluctuations.