Property agents march against cooling measures, stamp tax
Organisers said 23,000 joined the rally while police put the turnout at 5,500. Protesters chanting slogans marched through Causeway Bay from Victoria Park before assembling at government headquarters at Tamar.
Thousands of real estate agents took to Hong Kong’s streets Sunday in protest at government efforts to curb soaring property prices, saying new transaction taxes and other measures are threatening their business.
The alliance, supported by industry leaders Centaline Property Agency and Midland Realty as well as associations representing smaller agencies, called on the government to scrap the Special Stamp Duty and the Buyer Stamp Duty.
“There are 37,000 agents in Hong Kong and there were only 3,000 transactions last month,” said Raymond Ho, a spokesman for the rally organisers.
“The policies have frozen the market. A lot of small property agent firms will close in the future,” he told news agency AFP.
Organisers said 23,000 joined the rally while police put the turnout at 5,500. Protesters chanting slogans marched through Causeway Bay from Victoria Park before assembling at government headquarters at Tamar.
Home prices in the crowded city have risen by 120 per cent since 2008, and by more than 30 per cent from their previous peak in 1997.
A 900-square-foot apartment in the middle-market Tai Koo Shing estate sold for more than HK$10 million (US$1.29m) last year, after being priced at about HK$3 million in 2003.