Britons grab chance to buy off-plan as bid to boost housing market pays off
London properties may no longer be marketed so heavilyin Hong Kong as moves to boost the market start to bear fruit
Fewer British housing developments may be marketed in Hong Kong in coming years, because growing numbers of Britons are buying off-plan, according to economists and developers.
Economic recovery, rising mortgage lending, and programmes aimed at stimulating the market are also boosting demand from local buyers for new homes, especially among first-time buyers.
The government housing stimulus package includes the "Help-to-Buy" scheme that assists buyers with raising deposits and mortgages. The government provides equity loans to first-time buyers equivalent to 20 per cent of a property's value and makes loans available on new-build homes valued at £600,000 (HK$7.28 million) or less.
Ten thousand first-time buyers have taken out equity loans on new-build homes since Help-to-Buy was launched in April and Matthew Pointon, property economist at Capital Economics, said fewer residential developments would be marketed abroad if demand from British buyers kept rising.
"If developers can achieve sales here they will do so, and that is why they have been promoting schemes so heavily here," said Pointon. "You can't pass a building site now without seeing the advertising hoardings promoting the development."
Hong Kong demand for central London property remains strong, but increased competition from British buyers is likely to reduce their market share, said Liam Bailey, global head of residential research at property consultancy, Knight Frank. The upturn in Britain's economic fortunes was contributing to rising numbers of Britons buying new homes, including in London, a market dominated by overseas investors.
