Once known as the world’s most expensive city, rental prices in Hong Kong have fallen after a massive “anti-China” movement that saw large numbers of expatriates and locals leave the city, coupled with a severe recession and high unemployment.
Rents in Hong Kong have fallen to HK$33.60 per square foot in the first quarter, data showed, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Upscale properties in areas favored by Westerners and wealthy mainlanders, such as Mid-Levels and Deep Water Bay, saw the biggest drop, with rents falling by up to 25 percent from mid-2019, according to Hong Kong’s housing search site Thousand Residences. In the same period, rents fell 20 percent in SoHo, a district in Sheung Wan favored by foreign students and young white-collar workers.
The decline was driven by economic uncertainty and travel difficulties during the 2019 anti-revision (anti-sending to China) protest demonstrations, and weak demand exacerbated by the epidemic and severe recession, said James Fisher, president of operations at Thousand Residences, in an analysis.
Bloomberg industry research analyst Patrick Wong believes Hong Kong rents could fall another 5 percent to 10 percent in 2021 due to population decline and travel restrictions. And Hong Kong’s population could decline further as the British government receives 27,000 applications for British National (Overseas) passports from Hong Kong residents.
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate hit 6.8% in March, nearing a 17-year high set in the previous quarter. To save money, many unemployed people are moving back home to live with their families.
On April 29, a survey conducted by the Asia Pacific Research Institute of the Chinese University of Hong Kong showed that more than half of the youths surveyed want to leave Hong Kong to develop their career. In addition, with a score of 10 out of 10, respondents gave only 2.95 points to the question of “optimism about the future of Hong Kong society.
In June 2019, a massive “anti-China” movement broke out in Hong Kong. At the end of June last year, the Chinese Communist Party introduced the “Hong Kong National Security Law”, which caused great controversy. Several civil society groups have criticized the authorities for “closing and locking down” Hong Kong, and Hong Kong people fear that Hong Kong will become a big prison.
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