As Cathay Pacific crew, expatriates and BN(O) holders flee Hong Kong, who will snap up those property bargains?

Name: Why has Hong Kong been hit so hard by the Covid-19 fifth wave?
Uploaded: 2022-03-16T00:30:23.000Z
Duration: 7 min 29 s
Description: Why has Hong Kong been hit so hard by the Covid-19 fifth wave?

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Properties for sale as posted outdide an agency in Tung Chung, Hong Kong in February 2022. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Lam Ka-sing

Published: 8:30am, 16 Mar 2022Updated: 8:42am, 16 Mar 2022

An exodus of expatriates from Hong Kong has continued to pressure the housing market in the city, particularly those in Tung Chung that embodies the mood in the industry. Are they cheap enough to lure bargain hunters?

Prices in Tung Chung in New Territories, favoured by airline executives due to its proximity to the city’s international airport, have weakened by 5 per cent since the Lunar New Year, according to Centaline Property. They are expected to depreciate over the next quarter on stock market losses and recession fears.

In Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung and Kennedy Town, more sales advertisements are citing “emigration” or “urgent sale” as the reason to exit the market, adding to the anecdotes reported last month of owners willing to sell at losses in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun.

A Cathay Pacific stewardess last week sold her 388-sq ft flat at Coastal Skyline for HK$5.88 million (US$751,231) to return home to India, according to market data. The transaction marked the lowest price for a one-bedroom unit in the housing estate since June 2021.

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Why has Hong Kong been hit so hard by the Covid-19 fifth wave?

“The buyer was optimistic about the housing market and bought it for leasing,” said Tommy Wong, principal district sales manager at Centaline Property Agency. Now is “definitely” a good time to snap up bargains amid the “market volatility”.

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