Young Hong Kong homebuyers bank on Bangkok property with eye on future purchases at home
- The Thai capital is the most popular investment destination among Hong Kong and mainland Chinese buyers, according to experts
Hong Kong millennials, who have been priced out in the world’s most expensive property market at home, are increasingly investing in destinations like Bangkok in Thailand, where real estate prices stand at just about a fifth of those in the special administrative region.
Home prices in Hong Kong, which rose for 28 consecutive months, have fallen by 4 per cent over the past eight weeks, according to the Centa-City Leading Index, a gauge of the city’s secondary housing market. Hongkongers, however, still need to save their entire incomes for 19 and a half years before they can afford to buy a home in the city, according to a report published by market research company Demographia this year.
Moody’s sees Hong Kong home prices tumbling … half of Hongkongers agree
Homebuyers in Sydney and Vancouver will need to save their entire incomes for 12.9 and 12.6 years, respectively, according to the report.
“There is no way for me to buy a home in Hong Kong, even with home prices starting to ease,” said Calvin Chan, 35, an event planner.
Chan bought a 25 square metre (about 270 sq ft) apartment in Bangkok for HK$580,000 (US$74,111), in a new condominium project near a subway station, in June without even viewing the project. “With this budget, no way you can buy a unit in Hong Kong,” he said. In Hong Kong, a 162 sq ft apartment at The Esplanade in Tuen Mun is going for HK$3.09 million.
The 1,320-unit Metro Sky Prachachuen, in which 15 per cent of units have been sold to buyers from Hong Kong, will be located close to the planned Bang Sue Grand Station, which will also be the terminal for the high-speed train connecting Kunming in China’s southern Yunnan province with Bangkok, via Laos.
“My friends are also buying their first homes in Bangkok for investment, and are betting that home prices will be boosted by infrastructure development. If we are lucky enough to make a profit on this investment, we can buy an apartment in Hong Kong later,” said Chan.