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International Property
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Falling home prices, weak pound give Hongkongers a window to invest in the UK

  • Average home prices in the UK fell for the third straight month in February, and were £5,000 below the recent peak in November
  • Some market observers expect overall prices in the UK to fall by up to 9 per cent this year as elevated interest rates are likely to weigh on demand

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A view of London’s skyline at night. Hong Kong investors are taking a keen interest in UK property amid a decline in the pound’s value and falling prices. Photo: dpa
Cheryl Arcibal

Hong Kong emigrants to the UK are relishing the current downturn in the UK’s housing market as it presents another real estate investment opportunity.

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F. Chiu, a Hongkonger who moved to London with her father nearly a year ago, recently bought a nearly 1,000 sq ft flat in the West End, a stone’s throw from the Galliard Homes’ TCRW Soho project, on the tube system’s new Elizabeth Line, for £2.15 million (US$2.68 million). She bought another flat a few weeks ago, this time at the Orchard Wharf in London Docklands. A one-bedroom unit in the project starts from £460,000 onwards.

“The first purchase experience gave me enough confidence to buy another,” said the 50-something Chiu, who requested to be identified only by her family name. “We purchased the Orchard Wharf property in cash, and our tenants moved in on the third day after I got the keys.

“My father and I only came to the UK last July. This is our first such long-distance move … We are currently using the TCRW Soho apartment as a buy-to-let investment.”
The Orchard Wharf residential development in London Dockland, where a one-bedroom unit starts at £460,000. Photo: Handout
The Orchard Wharf residential development in London Dockland, where a one-bedroom unit starts at £460,000. Photo: Handout
Chiu’s second purchase comes at a fortuitous time. Last September, the British currency plunged to a five-year low of US$1.08 following an aborted plan to slash taxes and load up on debt under the short-lived administration of former prime minister Liz Truss. Home prices in the UK also have been under pressure since the Bank of England (BOE) began monetary tightening in late 2021, according to analysts. In February, average home prices in the UK fell for the third straight month and were £5,000 below the recent peak in November, according to the latest government data. On a year-on-year basis, prices were up 5.5 per cent to £288,000.
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