Politics and poor Covid response are driving a Hong Kong exodus. Real-estate experts say the UK, Canada, and Australia are the winners of Hong Kong's loss.

Families in Hong Kong are seeking safe haven in the UK, Canada, and Australia, as Beijing tightened its political control on Hong Kong.

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• Hong Kongers are fleeing the city-state for the UK, Canada, and Australia. 
• Many Hong Kong citizens hold dual citizenship in the three Western countries.
• Hong Kong citizens now account for the largest group of international homeowners in London.

Hong Kong's roiling political shift and lackluster COVID-19 response has led to an influx of Hong Kong citizens flooding real-estate markets across the UK, Canada, and Australia.

The exodus has been several years in the making. In 2020, China implemented a restrictive national security law in the city-state, and many residents feared the loss of democratic freedom. Disdain towards their home city grew even stronger during the Covid-19 pandemic, as Hong Kong aligned itself with China's strict zero-Covid strategy. Hong Kong's 7.5 million residents faced mass testings, strict curfews, and chaotic lockdowns during its fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. And up until recently, anyone traveling into Hong Kong was forced to endure — and pay for — a strict three-week quarantine. 

The combined forces of China and COVID-19 restrictions led to a population shrinkage of around 23,600 in 2021 alone, per Bloomberg, citing Hong Kong's Immigration Department data. 

Insider spoke to real estate experts to find out how the emigration of Hong Kong citizens has benefitted property markets around the world.

Hong Kongers with dual citizenship are choosing to purchase homes in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

According to Bloomberg, citing Hong Kong's Immigration Department data, Hong Kong's population shrunk by around 23,600 in 2021.

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According to Knight Frank's The Wealth Report 2022, the top three locations Hong Kongers are hoping to purchase homes are the UK, Canada, and Australia.

That's, in part, because of how common dual citizenship is among the island's residents.

"Many Hong Kongers hold dual citizenship in the UK, Canada, and Australia. This could be why they are seeking to purchase homes there instead," Christine Li, Head of Research for Knight Frank Asia-Pacific told Insider. 

Knight Frank is a real-estate consultancy company that offers market trend data and reports.

Hong Kong citizens are the largest group of international homeowners in London.

Hongkongers can apply for permanent residency after five years in the UK and can pursue citizenship after an additional year.

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In 2020, the UK offered Hong Kong citizens holding British National (Overseas) status and their immediate family members a pathway to citizenship. 

The BN(O) is a pathway to British nationality that was offered to all Hong Kong citizens before China took over in 1997. In February, an estimated 2.9 million BN(O) status holders and their 2.3 million eligible dependants were eligible to move to the UK, per the UK Home Office.

Since the fast-track residency scheme launched, London saw a 144% increase in transactions by Hong Kong buyers. From July 2020 to March 2021, Hong Kong residents bought $1.3 billion worth of homes in London.

Hong Kong citizens now account for the largest group of international homeowners across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and Liverpool. 

 

Canada saw $40 billion of funds transferred from Hong Kong in 2022.

The number of Hong Kong migrants to Canada has surged to levels not seen since 1998, the year after Hong Kong was handed over to China.

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As of February 2021, an estimated 300,000 Canadian passport holders lived in the city-state. But many have returned to Canada to escape the China-implemented national security law in Hong Kong, per Reuters.

To facilitate emigration to Canada, the country has created new immigration pathways for Hong Kongers. Nearly 2,300 Hong Kongers gained Canadian permanent residency, while 16,147 obtained work or study permits in 2021. 

"Over $40 billion in funds were transferred from Hong Kong to Canada, and a lot of that money will be going into real estate," Isaac Quan, a managing broker at Living Realty Downtown told STOREYS, a Canadian real-estate news outlet, in February 2022. "The real estate market will be impacted quite a bit with this influx of Hong Kong people," Quan added.

But Hong Kongers moving to Canada are facing a steep incline in housing prices. Canada's real estate prices have seen 20.6% year-over-year growth, and the average home price in Canada hit a record high of $816,720 Canadian dollars this past February.

One real-estate agency in Australia said they saw a 100% increase in home inquiries from last year.

Hong Kong parents are now choosing to stay in Australia while their children complete their studies. Prior to the pandemic, Hong Kong parents preferred staying in Hong Kong, realtor Derek Tse said.

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When political unrest started in Hong Kong in 2018, Australia was the top destination for Hong Kong emigrants. One-third of the 7,600 leaving the city-state in 2018 chose to settle down in Australia. Between January 2020 and July 2021, 9,250 Hong Kongers applied for permanent visas in Australia, with 6,000 visas being granted, per Reuters, citing Australian immigration department records.

Currently, around 86,000 Hong Kong citizens reside in Australia. This figure is expected to increase now that an additional 8,800 Hong Kongers are eligible for two new Australian permanent residence visa schemes that were launched in March 2022. 

Derek Tse, business development manager of the real estate agency IQI Western Australia, told Insider his company had seen a 100% increase in inquiries from Hong Kongers looking to move over the past year. According to Tse, IQI's Juwei property portal has received 88 inquiries year-to-date. That's the same number of inquiries IQI received from Hong Kongers in all of 2021. This figure excludes requests from social media, migration agents, and referral partners.

Surprisingly, Singapore's property market has yet to see a significant influx from Hong Kong.

In the past year, Singapore has clamped down on issuing work permits to skilled foreign talents.

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With Singapore loosening COVID-19 and border restrictions, the rival financial hub was reported by South China Morning Post to be a top choice for expats and Hong Kongers leaving Hong Kong. However, the movement of Hong Kongers has "not yet caused a discernible impact on Singapore's property market," Catherine He, head of research for Colliers Singapore, told Insider. 

"I think they would be more attracted to more welcoming places like the UK," He said. 

That's in part because this past year Singapore has been clamping down on issuing work permits to skilled foreign talents. According to He, the Singapore government also introduced a range of property cooling measures, including a 30% stamp duty on any residential purchases by foreign buyers. 

Colliers usually sells 3,000 units per quarter, out of which Hong Kongers purchased only 11 units, she added. 

The same is true for the rental market. "Most of the renters boosting the residential leasing market are actually locals and permanent residents who are affected by their delays in HDB BTO flats and new condominium completions," Tee Khoon Tan from Property Guru told Insider.

Insider's Huileng Tan reported in April that Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said the city-state's brain drain was "unarguable." However, Lam believes those departing may return in the future.

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