Short-term speculators suffer losses on their investments

The Hong Kong Marquee Evening Sales in Autumn 2024 saw 36 lots return to the auction market, with 22 selling at a profit, 9 at a loss, and 5 failing to find buyers. The lingering effects of the market frenzy in 2021 and 2022 were evident, as six out of seven artworks held for 2-3 years sold at a loss, delivering a negative average annual return of -14.9%. In contrast, long-term investors saw more favourable outcomes, with 13 artworks held for over 10 years achieving an average annual return of 7.2%, and only one reselling at a loss.

This analysis takes a closer look at the performance of 51 of these repeat auction sales that we were able to identify and the relationship between holding periods and return on investment