Mainlanders, Hongkongers increasingly looking to work and buy homes in Beethoven’s Vienna. But it is not easy to pull off
- You need a job, or to make a US$3.1 million donation or US$8.8 million investment to call Vienna home
- Inquiries from mainland, Hong Kong are increasing
Hongkongers and mainland Chinese are increasingly looking at working or buying a home in Vienna, rated as the world’s best city to live in. But it’s not easy to pull off: you need a job, or to make a US$3.1 million donation or US$8.8 million investment (buying a home doesn’t count).
Despite the high bar to get to live in Austria’s capital, whose residents have included Mozart and Beethoven, residential property agents say they are getting more inquiries from Hong Kong and mainland China.
“As Vienna is again the most livable city in the world, the inquiries from around the world have had an enormous uptick,” said Richard Buxbaum, head of residential at property agency Otto Immobilien, an affiliate of consultancy Knight Frank.
Inquiries from Hongkongers about emigrating to Vienna have tripled this year, according to the Austrian Consulate.
Meanwhile, Chinese buyer interest in Austrian property doubled, though the increase is off a low base, according to portal Juwai.com.