Hong Kong’s BN(O) emigrants are more likely to rent in the UK than buy, even as a stamp duty holiday ends and home prices plunge
- About half of the respondents said they intended to buy real estate within the next 12 months
- Up to 27.8 per cent had plans within the next one to two years and the remaining 27 per cent said they would need more than two years to commit to buying real estate
They are also unlikely to rush into purchase commitments ahead of the end of a stamp duty holiday in October, or be persuaded by the biggest plunge in average home prices in nearly 30 years in July, agents said.
“Most Hongkongers [emigrating] to the UK are doing so on a long-term basis and the option to rent first is very much about finding the right place to lay these foundations,” said Marc von Grundherr, director of London-based Benham and Reeves. “We’re simply not seeing them delay this decision in the hope of saving a few thousand pounds months down the line, but renting first does present the opportunity to save in other ways.”
The cautious behaviour explains the 2020 survey by the London property search agent UK Holmes, which found that although 81 per cent of 600 respondents said they were applying for the BN(O) visa, this did not translate into an immediate intention to buy property. About half of the respondents said they intended to buy real estate within the next 12 months, while 27.8 per cent had plans within the next one to two years and the remaining 27 per cent said they would need more than two years to commit to buying real estate.
A levy will be slapped on home purchases valued at a minimum of £125,000 (US$170,800) starting next month when all stamp duty holiday perks wrap up, half of the current threshold of £250,000.