For the eighth year in a row, Hong Kong holds the dubious distinction of being the world’s least affordable city in which to buy a home. And yet, as locals clamor to get a foothold on the property ladder and wealthy Chinese seeking an offshore haven keep buying into the top end of the market, demand for real estate continues to rise.
Prices of homes in the secondary market rose 14.4 percent in 2017 and could climb as much as 20 percent this year if the stock market keeps roaring, says Denis Ma, head of Hong Kong research at consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. In November a four-bedroom house at the Mount Nicholson development in the city’s Peak neighborhood sold for about $148 million, or $16,211 per square foot, a record sum in Asia. The 9,178-square-foot property has an elevator, pool, garden, and unobstructed views of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour.
