Hong Kong Real Estate Investors On A Buying Spree
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Hong Kong, China
Lured by lax monetary policy, and discounts of up to 50% on luxury property, Chinese mainlanders have been on a buying spree in Hong Kong of late. Double-digit price growth is predicted for Hong Kong flats in 2010, as a prevailing buying mood has developers anxious to satisfy the surge in demand.
Almost one in five luxury flats sold in Hong Kong last year, that is property worth more than HK$10 million, went to a buyer from the Chinese mainland, transaction data from Centaline Property Agency shows.
Mainlanders comprised made up 18.1% of buyers of luxury flats last year compared with 11.2% in 2008 and 9.2% in 2007. It was the sharpest growth in mainland purchases in six years, said Wong Leung-shing, an associate director of research at Centaline.
He said the buyers had taken advantage of a sharp fall in prices. ‘From 2004 to 2008 mainland buyers grew only 1 to 2% a year but since then the growth has been steady. The substantial increase in 2009 was due to the sharp fall in luxury property prices,’ Wong added.
