Mainland Chinese buyers make comeback as luxury Hong Kong homes snapped up

Mainland investors are making a cautious return to the city's top-end residential property sector, about 28 months after heavy taxes on non-permanent residents cooled the market, having become used to the extra stamp duties as they chase a limited supply of prime assets, property agents said.

The demand for luxury properties is seen rising further if Beijing continues its high-profile anti-corruption campaign.

"If the anti-graft campaign continues to intensify, it is believed some mainland money will be parked in Hong Kong to avoid any potential risks," said Joseph Tsang, the managing director of property consultancy JLL. "They want to leave the high-risk area."

Affluent mainlanders, once blamed for pushing Hong Kong home prices to stratospheric levels, saw their share in the sector shrink after the government imposed heavy stamp duties including a buyer's stamp duty of 15 per cent on non-permanent residents in October 2012.

But the latest data from private property agencies showed an increasing number of luxury homes being bought by mainlanders.

According to Centaline Property Agency, luxury homes bought by mainlanders accounted for 25.4 per cent of the value of new homes sold last year, up one percentage point.

Centaline expects the share will rise to 30 per cent this year.

The percentages are on the increase but they remain below the record 47 per cent reached in 2012.

The recent sales of top-end homes included the houses at Twelve Peaks and the historic Ho Tung Gardens - both on the Peak.

Sun Hung Kai Properties sold four of the 12 houses at Twelve Peaks. The recent sale of House 6 was at HK$119,000 per square foot, making it the third-most expensive house sold in Hong Kong.

Sun Hung Kai Properties deputy managing director Victor Lui Ting refused to identify the buyers. "They include mainland buyers," he said.

Last month, the 120,000 sq ft site of the former historic Ho Tung Gardens was sold for a record HK$5.1 billion. The buyer is understood to be mainland businessman Cheung Chung-kiu, who is also known as the "Li Ka-shing of Chongqing".

Consultants said most of the big-ticket property transactions went through companies incorporated overseas.

For example, the buyer of Ho Tung Gardens shown in the Land Registry is a company called Season Glitter. The directors of the company are unknown.

Tsang said it was difficult to identify the buyers. "We can just call them mysterious buyers."