HONG KONG, March 19 — After a pandemic-induced lull spanning more than three years, mainland Chinese are snapping up homes in Hong Kong, accounting for up to a third of new...
HONG KONG, March 19 — After a pandemic-induced lull spanning more than three years, mainland Chinese are snapping up homes in Hong Kong, accounting for up to a third of new property sales weeks after the city removed all additional stamp duties on foreign buyers.
But even though sales have risen, prices remain suppressed as developers offer discounts to clear inventory. S&P Global Ratings estimated transaction volumes this year would recover only moderately from 2023, as interest rates remain high. At a new launch this month by Wheelock Properties and MTR Corp 0066.HK, mainland Chinese professionals planning to move to Hong Kong accounted for around 20 per cent of those who had expressed an intention to buy, the developer said.Two weeks ago, major property developer Henderson Land 0012.HK sold all 30 apartments on offer at a launch event, according to realtor Centaline. Two buyers bought eight apartments each, and one of them, who spent HK$42 million in total, was from mainland China.