Investing in real estate has become quite popular in the recent years, especially as government bonds are becoming close to record lows. In fact, the largest sovereign fund in the world, Norway's oil fund, had already announced that they may invest more than four billion dollards in worldwide property, which shall break the record of last year.
However, the post financial crisis era may still bring an issue of affordability to some investors. As investors witnessed the growth and slow down of the economy, they have become even more aware of all the costs associated with real estate investment. It's not just the purchase that matters, investors have to think about the holding of the property as well as the selling of the property - with tax costs as a major factor. With tax in mind, investors have to focus on choosing the country or city where they should invest in real estate.
Here is a summarized version of how much tax you pay on a property worth $1M, assuming that a foreign investor has a sum of money for worldwide real estate investment, and that the property is owned for a period of five years.
Hong Kong - 22.4% to 23.2% of the property's price on its fifth year. The major cost shall come from the 15% Buyer's Stamp Duty which is charged on non residents investors of Hong Kong.
New York - Tax costs for a New York property is at 15.5% of the property's year five price.
London - Tax costs in the UK equate to around 9.7% of the property's price at its fifth year.
Monaco - Monaco's tax costs are comparatively lower than the other cities at only around 3.5%.
Sydney - Australian costs for tax equate to around 18% of the property, with the major cost brought about by capital gains tax.