(Yicai Global) Dec. 1 -- As Hong Kong's real estate prices have registered a record high for the 19th straight month, market insiders begin to worry about possible risks. However, the British real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank LLP suggests that although the growth will slow down next year, Hong Kong's real estate prices would still grow by 5 percent.

In October, the private housing price index posted 342.4, up 0.5 percent month-on-month, hitting an all-time high for the 12th consecutive month, show data from Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department. Hong Kong's real estate prices have been growing continuously for over 19 months.

Hong Kong's real estate prices are expected to grow by 12 percent in 2017, and the growth will slow down to 5 percent next year, mainly because of buyers' limited purchasing power in the face of excessive prices and some other peripheral factors. If the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region does not introduce policies to inhibit the excessive growth of the real estate market next year, the growth might exceed 5 percent, said Thomas Lam, senior director and head of valuation and consultancy of Knight Frank, at a press conference.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently issued a report warning that there may be systemic risks in Hong Kong's housing market.

However, Knight Frank argues that currently, it sees no major factor that will cause Hong Kong's real estate prices to plummet in the short term, especially in the luxury housing market. As this market is undersupplied, the prices will continue to soar at a pace of 8 percent next year, it claims.

One noticeable development is that mainland buyers' interest in Hong Kong luxury housing has begun to ebb. Of the first 30 single-house and apartment transactions this year that involve the highest amounts of money, mainland buyers accounted for 35 percent, which marks a drop compared with the same period last year, said Lam. He added that many local Hong Kong buyers have noticed the laggard growth in the luxury housing market and decided to buy such houses.

This year, Hong Kong's real estate sales volume will reach 60,000 transactions, and for next year, Knight Frank predicts that the sales volume will be about 60,000 to 63,000 transactions, flat with this year.