An interesting note from International Living Real Estate Guru, Ronan McMahon.
Currently scouting around Asia for real estate & investment opportunities, Ronan wrote from Hong Kong about the state of things there:
“Condos here cost $18,000 to $30,000 per square meter (to roughly estimate what that is per square foot just drop a zero). That’s still up to $3 million for a 1,000-square-foot condo. But you can pay even more. I visited a condo with an asking price of $15 million. It was quite nice—and big at 3,700 square feet—but it certainly didn’t blow me away. The Chinese just keep coming from the mainland with seemingly limitless cash. You see it everywhere…in the fleet of Rolls-Royces outside the Shangri-La, and in the packed Chanel boutiques.
“The market was rising at so hot a pace that the government here introduced a capital gains tax of up to 15% if you flip within two years (it’s staggered). Hold for longer than two years and it’s business as usual in Hong Kong: No capital gains tax. You will pay stamp duty of 3.75% to 4.25% when you buy. It’s amazing to see a real estate boom like this in a place where most buyers are cash buyers and no one can borrow more than 50% loan to value.”
reprinted from International Living
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August 3, 2011 at 9:31 am
wheelalignmentshop
That’s amazing to me. I guess China is flourishing in leaps and bounds. That kind of economic growth can’t be without it’s pains and disparity though I suppose. I wonder what it will mean for our debt as a nation. We’re one of their main buyers of goods, which I guess is why they were so keen on us raising the debt ceiling. Interesting times we find ourselves in.
August 5, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Annalisa
Yes, indeed, interesting times!
August 8, 2011 at 2:15 pm
akismet-c6a95596226e9adba6cc29c81d090d9c
Hong Kong is amazing! Moscow could be a good comparison too. There was a condo there that sold for around $25 million, only around 800 sq.ft.