Renowned for its wild fluctuations, Hong Kong’s property market is once again on a roller coaster.

The total number of residential transactions in August was down by more than 60 percent from November 2007 levels, according to the most recent market report from the Knight Frank real estate agency.

Even in Hong Kong’s luxury market, prices dropped 3.1 percent in August, Knight Frank reports - and there is little doubt the declines are growing.

Data released by the government’s Land Registry office show sales in October were down 58 percent from a year earlier.

Tony Tsang, Citi’s co-head of regional property research, recently told a reporter he expected prices to drop 30 percent more by the end of next year.

“We have not seen the worst in Hong Kong and that’s why we are quite bearish about the property market,” Tsang said.

Until the recent global financial turmoil, Hong Kong was one of the hottest markets in the world. From August 2006 to August 2008, Global Property Guide’s index of Hong Kong property rose 32.4 percent.