Complaints against Hong Kong property agents outpace home sales as market rebounds

Complaints against Hong Kong property agents jumped 56 per cent in 2025, outpacing the rise in property transactions, as a reviving housing market exposed pressure points in industry practices, according to the Estate Agents Authority (EAA).The EAA said it opened 253 complaint cases in 2025, up from 162 in 2024, even as overall residential transactions rose 18.3 per cent year on year. The faster growth in complaints suggests tensions between agents and consumers intensified more sharply than the market’s recovery.“When there are more transactions, there will naturally be more complaints,” EAA chairman Simon Siu Chak-yu said on Thursday, playing down the surge while highlighting stronger market activity in 2025 following several years of subdued sales.The biggest source of complaints was non-compliant advertising, which nearly tripled to 81 cases from 30 in 2024, the EAA said. Most involved inaccurate property photos or s published without the owner’s written consent. Online platforms accounted for 77 of the cases, up from 27 the year before.Hong Kong recorded 80,702 property registrations in 2025, including residential, parking spaces and commercial properties, according to Centaline Property Agency. Of these, 62,832 were residential properties. First-hand private home sales jumped 22 per cent to 20,564 units – a six-year high – while second-hand private home transactions increased 18 per cent to nearly 39,900 units, the strongest level in four years.Hong Kong recorded more than 80,700 property registrations in 2025, including residential, parking spaces and commercial properties. Photo: Elson LiAmid the increase in complaints, the authority took disciplinary action against 319 licensees or former licensees during the year, suspending nine licences and revoking 83. Total fines imposed reached about HK$4.7 million (US$600,000), all paid to the government.