Hong Kong-based investors are the largest foreign buyers of homes in the UK, but additional education fees, a new tax scheme and slowing growth in rental rates could conspire to turn people away from the country.
As of December 5, Hong Kong investors had registered 25,972 property titles in the UK, up 5.7 per cent from 2023, accounting for 13.7 per cent of all foreign homebuyers, according to data provided by London-based property agency Benham and Reeves.
In 2024, about 190,000 properties in England and Wales were owned by foreigners, up 2.6 per cent from a year earlier, the data showed.
Hongkongers’ affinity for UK property has also been a boon for businesses like Skipton International, a Guernsey-based bank and mortgage lender. It said that in 2024, one out of every seven of its UK mortgage loans was held by a Hong Kong resident.
Skipton is now offering customers a five-year, fixed-rate mortgage starting at 4.99 per cent and it also introduced a new three-year, fixed-rate loan starting at 5.89 per cent.
Recent developments in the UK, however, stand to put a damper on demand.
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