How technology is making house-buying abroad a whole lot easier
Hong Kong’s property agents are increasingly offering digital tools like virtual tours and FaceTime to potential buyers of overseas property
Technology has made buying property overseas for Hongkongers easier with the help of online listings, digital house tours, and even FaceTime.
One Hong Kong-based investor recently spent millions on a house some 7,000 kilometres away in Australia after inspecting it via FaceTime, a mobile video calling app.
The unidentified purchaser bought an AUS$3.65 million (HK$21.67 million) home in Roseville Chase – a suburb of northern Sydney – late last month after inspecting the property during a 40-minute call on FaceTime, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Belle Property Lindfield agent Lisa Davies said the inspection of the property, located at 55 Griffith Avenue, was similar to a conventional walk-through. At first, she had her doubts that the video call would convince the buyer to make a bid, but he submitted an offer the next day.
“It was impossible to show him the full magnitude of the property from my singular phone angles and after the call I thought he surely wouldn’t actually go through with it,” Davies told the Telegraph.
Technology plays an important role in the real estate industry, and it keeps shaping the model of agency business
The purchase reflects the increasing digitisation of the real estate industry, as agents seek to connect with buyers online through 360 degree digital tours or virtual reality viewings of properties and mobile listings.