Hong Kong sees record mortgage applications from Chinese buyers

HONG Kong mortgage applications from mainland Chinese buyers rose to a record high in the fourth quarter of 2022, underscoring the group’s growing influence in the city’s property sector.

Mainland buyers with Hong Kong residency represented 11.4 per cent of the mortgage applications that mReferral Mortgage Brokerage Services handled, the highest proportion since the firm started tracking the data in 2018.

Immigration interest from mainland Chinese has spiked following the country’s stringent Covid lockdowns and concerns of an economic slowdown.

Hong Kong stands as one of the top relocation destinations, especially after the city’s government introduced a programme to entice top talent to reverse a brain drain following political upheavals.

Buyers of mainland origin “will represent one of the pillars for the market”, said Eric Tso, chief vice-president at mReferral.

“They have the income and the ability to buy properties in Hong Kong. They also prefer middle to high-end properties.”

Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee said in October that the city will grant two-year visas to anyone who earned at least HK$2.5 million (S$423,510) in the past year, as well as for graduates from top-ranked universities.

The city will also suspend the annual quota of its current programme for skilled talent and extend the limit of stay for non-local graduates from one year to two.

Lee also proposed a tax refund for non-permanent resident buyers once they get their residency, creating an incentive for mainland people to invest in the city’s homes.

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The Hong Kong government has already approved 60 per cent of the 3,800 applications for the talent visa programme introduced in December, The Straits Times reported this week.

A buyer who migrated to Hong Kong from the mainland through a talent admission programme bought an apartment in the Tseung Kwan O area for HK$12.8 million this week, said Midland Realty, which brokered the deal.

The buyer obtained Hong Kong permanent residency six months ago.

Hong Kong’s property market has been under pressure amid rising interest rates and an outflow of people.

Resale home values declined about 16 per cent last year, with combined new and secondary home sales slumping to the lowest level since at least 1996, showed data tracked by Centaline Property Agency. BLOOMBERG