Hongkongers turn to virtual reality to speed up UK property purchases as Covid-19 pandemic rules out in-person viewings
- Live video tours, video conferencing and virtual augmented reality apps are helping Hongkongers to pick their UK property amid travel curbs
- Some 2,203 homes in London worth £1.1 billion have been snapped up by Hongkongers between July and April: Benham and Reeves
Buyers from Hong Kong are snapping up property in London at a faster pace to take advantage of the UK’s citizenship offer, with developers and agents garnering more sales from clients with the aid of virtual technology.
“Recently we’ve seen an uptick in Hongkongers using virtual tools, and in the past six months we have successfully helped over 50 Hong Kong families to buy and rent their new homes in the UK by using this method,” said Laura Chan, sales director at Manchester-based Urban Life Property.
Sales can be finalised by signing electronic documents using online services such as DocuSign that can be certified over virtual meeting apps, according to Knight Frank.
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Since the UK announced the a visa programme for British National (Overseas) passport holders in July last year, some 2,203 homes in London worth £1.1 billion (US$1.5 billion) have been snapped up by Hongkongers up to April, according to London-based property agency Benham and Reeves. Buyers from Hong Kong accounted for about 4 per cent of total home purchases in the British capital compared to 1 per cent in the same period a year earlier.