Who buys multiple apartments in Hong Kong when most struggle to own one? Here’s a list
Purchases of multiple apartment units on a single contract surged to a record HK$13 billion since January, almost a quarter of all purchases in the same period.
Hong Kong’s mega-rich barely break a sweat whenever they snap up multiple apartment units, even as the majority of the city’s residents struggle to own a single unit in the world’s most expensive city.
But paying a higher duty on the property purchases is a different story.
Such was the case for Juliana Chao Pik-chun, the daughter-in-law of Dragonair’s founder Chao Kuang-piu. It was also the case for the chief of the Broadway retail chain Li Chi-leung, and actor/songwriter Aarif Rahman. The three have spent more than HK$1 billion (US$128 million) collectively, buying multiple number of apartment units in one shot in March, according to Land Registry data and reports by agents.
Chao bought six flats, totalling 12,912 square feet, for HK$760 million, or HK$58,767 per square foot, at the Altamira luxury development project at the Mid-Levels on March 13, according to Land Registry data released on Tuesday. She acquired theunits through a tender sale offered by private developer Majestic Elite Property Development.
“The market buying pattern has been distorted by the government tax policy. As there is only one chance for first-time buyers to avoid the stamp duty, investors will maximise the use of their names to buy as many as they can,” said Wong Leung-sing, associate director of research at Centaline Property Agency.