Hong Kong Real Estate as an Investment

By: Wantanee Khamkongkaew

With more than 250 islands, Hong Kong is an incredible destination, located at the south eastern tip of China. Covering an area of 1104 square kilometers, it is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.

Once described as a 'desolate rock' area, the city has now been transformed into a great financial, trading and business centre. Indeed, it is an international city, with an amazing mix of the cultures and sophistication from both east and west. Many reputable international companies functions with Hong Kong as the base for carrying out their core business activities.

In recent years, the city has also gained much popularity as an educational center, the evidence for which is hundreds of foreigners including Europeans and Canadians studying in many of the reputable educational institutions here. In addition, the place is a hot tourist destination with an incomparable array of attractions such as soaring towers, artistic edifices, interesting museums, beautiful parks and gardens, ancient shrines, and much more. Above all, the destination enjoys a great deal of autonomy except in the case of defense and foreign affairs.

Probably for these causes, many people from across the globe are now getting attracted to invest in real estate here. Real estate in Hong Kong is regarded as one of the priciest in the world. For instance, the Peak - a much favored residential area in the city, located between Victoria Peak and Mount Gough - is one of the most expensive areas in the world.

Likewise, many of the posh destinations in the area claim to have record prices. According to some recent publications, the property price in the city has rose to more than $ 3500 per sq ft or more than $ 300 per sq mt. It is estimated that even a small house or apartment in the dull areas of the city costs more than two million Hong Kong dollars.

Nowadays, people prefer to invest here due to a myriad of reasons. Some people may invest in residential real estate including house, condo, penthouse, and villa, in order rent it out. By way of renting out the property, it can fetch you a minimum of at least HK$ 100,000 per year.

However, when you consider Hong Kong real estate for renting purpose and that too to the region's expatriate community, it is important that you invest in some of the most exclusive areas of the city. On contrary, if you are planning to invest in property here in order to sell it out after some times, then you should go for such a real estate within the area that has strong potential for developments. There are some people who consider real estate investment as a means to enhance their business activities.

One of the obvious benefits of investing in property here is accessibility to one of the world's leading trade market. Since no specific restrictions are imposed to buy a property in the Hong Kong, it benefits many foreigners to invest here. Further, the laws and regulation involved in the purchase of real estate here is quite liberal. Above all, investing in real estate can undoubtedly fetch you huge profits.

Since the city is a former British colony, its property law is structured on the basis of English law. Every process in connection with acquiring of a property in the place is governed by Conveyancing and Ordinance. This in turn has attracted many European real estate investors. A specialty of Hong Kong Property Law is that all of the property found here belongs to government, ie, all real estate in Hong Kong is held under leasehold title. Hence, those who are interested in property investment buy an agreement or a lease for a period ranging from 50 to 999 years.

A real estate or property in the city can be either solely owned by one person or through jointly by several investors. However, joint investment may be usually in the form of tenant or a joint tenancy. Further, a property can also be owned through a company structure. But, in case, if a company would like to conduct its business through the purchase of a property on lease, then it should be registered with the Hong Kong Companies Registry. In addition, every type of lease should be listed at the Hong Kong' Land Registry.

A plethora of real estate firms have now come forward to find and acquire your dream property in the city. Some of them even provide the services of professional lawyers to help you in carrying out buying procedures, including listing on the Hong Kong Companies Registry and negotiation of purchase. Additionally, there are also real estate firms providing steps to arrange mortgages for the purchase of property.

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