New Stamp Duty on Property
It's also worth noting that the HK Govt recently increased the stamp duty payable on properties in HK for non-permanent residents to around 20%. Therefore, any newcomers wishing to buy a flat here will need a lot of cash up front.
For example, a very modest flat worth $4 million HKD (if you can find one for that amount now), will need a deposit of around $400,000 HKD (10% down payment) plus another $800,000 (20% stamp duty). This totals around $1.2 Million HKD (approx $150,000 US dollars) which will be very difficult for the average new guy to fork out. This means you will have to rent for quite some time which is a nightmare in HK without a housing allowance, and quite unworkable if you have a family.
Last edited by OneBarWonder; 9th Nov 2012 at 09:55.