Hongkongers and Singaporeans lock horns over London properties, as more Lion City buyers eye real estate in UK

More Singaporeans were looking to acquire property in London and this could be partially blamed for a 2.2 per cent increase in overall London home prices in February, Benham and Reeves executive says

Given their cultural similarities, it is not unusual for Hongkongers and Singaporeans to compete for the same property

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In central London, average prices rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to March, which was the strongest annual rate of growth since May 2015, according to property consultancy Knight Frank. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:30am, 20 Apr 2022

Hongkongers looking to buy homes in London either for their own use as they relocate to the United Kingdom under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme, or for investment, are likely to find themselves competing with a rising number of Singaporean buyers, analysts said.

More Singaporeans were looking to acquire property in London and this, coupled with local demand and that coming from other Hongkongers, could be partially blamed for a 2.2 per cent – or about £12,000 (US$15,600) – increment in overall London home prices in February, the fastest growth rate on a monthly basis among all UK regions, said Marc von Grundherr, director at property agency Benham and Reeves.

In central London, average prices rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to March, which was the strongest annual rate of growth since May 2015, according to property consultancy Knight Frank. The number of new prospective buyers in the district was also 84 per cent higher in the first quarter of this year than the five-year average.

Under London’s BN(O) scheme, which was launched in 2021, 3 million Hongkongers and their dependents are able to relocate to the UK and stay and work for extendable periods of 12 months, creating a path to citizenship.

As of last year, 104,000 Hongkongers had applied to relocate to the UK under the programme, with 93 per cent of them winning an approval, according to government data. As many as 322,400 immigrants from Hong Kong are likely to purchase a home in the UK until 2026, according to estimates by the British government.