Stamp Duty

Home buyers down after Hong Kong stamp duty rise

4 Mar 2013

Sales of existing homes continued to fall over the weekend, as prospective buyers stayed on the sidelines after the government doubled stamp duties just over a week ago.

Buyers pay price of confusing property curbs

4 Mar 2013

Hong Kong's famously "non-interventionist" government has intervened five times in the property market over the past five years to either raise or lower prices.

Housing rents seen to rise faster as new stamp duty hits home purchases

27 Feb 2013

Rents will rise at a faster pace in the second half of this year as demand for rental accommodation increases as a result of homebuyers hold off on making purchases while they digest the impact of...

Market for cheaper flats expected to recover faster than luxury segment

27 Feb 2013

Sales of homes worth HK$20 million or higher froze over the weekend, but demand among first-home buyers stayed healthy despite higher property tax as they took advantage of discounts.

Sales in second-hand property market double after stamp duty

25 Feb 2013

Sales in Hong Kong's secondary market for 10 major private housing estates doubled over the weekend, with most being first-time buyers, according to figures from Centaline.

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Extra stamp duty 'to hit speculators only', says financial secretary Tsang

Genuine home buyers will not be affected by property cooling measures, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said yesterday, adding that the higher stamp duties imposed on Friday would not apply...

18 comments

Sale of hotel rooms shows the limits of government intervention

It comes down to supply and demand. The hefty 15 per cent stamp duty imposed on non-local buyers, which was put in place last year to curb speculation, has discouraged a number of buyers. But no...

Does adding children's names to the deeds of a Hong Kong flat involve any duty or tax?

My husband and I have owned our flat here for more than 35 years. For succession planning, we would like to add the names of our two children (living and working abroad) to the title deeds of the...

PROPERTY

Demand for flats falls by half in wake of stamp duty rises

Developers hoping to complete sales programmes looked for ways to fight the impact of sharp increases in stamp duties. They increased the commission for agents - some of whom were passing on the...

8 comments

PROPERTY

Home prices expected to fall 5pc next month as stamp duty doubled

Home prices are expected to fall 5 per cent and sales volume plunge by half next month in response to the government's doubling of the stamp duty for those who buy second homes worth more than HK$...

4 comments

PROPERTY

Buyers rush to avoid new property taxes at midnight

A developer last night brought forward the sale of flats to beat the introduction at midnight of the latest round of government cooling measures that were announced on Friday.