Estate Agents Aston Chase has experienced a spike in Hong Kong Chinese nationals seeking more substantial properties ahead of a potential second wave in COVID-19 and Chinese law changes.
A lot has been said about Hong Kong over the past twelve months. But, as we tend to steer clear from the subject of politics, we won’t go into this.
According to recent articles in the international press, the UK government could open a clear path to citizenship for up to three million Hong Kong residents.
London has always been a preferred place to purchase property for wealthy Hong Kong Chinese nationals with most viewing it as the ideal place to invest. In the main, they’ve looked to buy smaller properties and new builds as they are easy to let and have been a perfect base for their siblings to reside while studying.
It seems that given all the changes potentially in the pipeline in the former British-colony, London property might become more than just an investment.
Aston Chase has found that many of their existing Hong Kong Chinese clients are seeking to upgrade their current properties to more substantial family homes. This would indicate that the Hong Kong residents are erring on the side of caution and are considering a more permanent relocation to the capital in the future.
The agency also revealed that the spike in interest began as far back as early 2019 when the well-publicised protests began. However, this came to a stop at the start of this year due to the UK property market being put on hold and global travel restrictions.
With the UK property market open once more and booming, the London-based agency has seen a 50% increase in enquiries from Hong Kong buyers. With the potential for a second wave of COVID-19 infections, they’ve found that deals are getting done and quickly.
Aston Chase stated their Hong Kong Chinese buyers are looking in the £5+ million areas of the market. The preference is for large secure family homes close to good schools and modern homes behind traditional-looking facades.
Based on purchaser feedback, the estate agency believes that buyers are viewing London as a ‘safe haven’ should political tensions with the Chinese government worsen.
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