Foreign Buyers of Hong Kong Homes Help Drive Price Rebound
- Overseas purchases of 250 homes in September, a 14-month high
- Chinese buyers account for 31% of homes worth at least $2.6m
Residential buildings stand illuminated at night in the Tung Chung area of Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016.
Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/BloombergA surge in purchases of Hong Kong homes by non-residents offers one explanation for what’s driven an 11 percent rebound in property prices from a March bottom.
In September, 250 homes were sold to non-resident foreigners, the most in 14 months and 36 percent higher than the average for the previous four months, according to data from Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department. That compares with a low of 62 homes going to foreign buyers in February, just before the nadir of Hong Kong’s property market. While the revenue department does not give a breakdown on nationality, analysts and developers say mainland Chinese are the biggest foreign buyers.