[Leica] Hong Kong pictures

[H&ECummer]

Hi Richard,
Yes indeed Vancouver has the most expensive real estate on the planet followed by Hong Kong, according to a recent international survey.
And, as you note, the common factor in this pricing is Mainland money. Once it gets into a Hong Kong bank - don’t ask how it gets from China to Hong Kong - then it is an easy transfer to Canada to buy property which is now 20% cheaper than last year due to the fall in the C$. Canada has no restrictions on foreign ownership - unlike Hong Kong which charges a 15% transfer tax to buyers who are not permanent residents of the SAR (Special Administrative Region). The result is fewer and fewer Vancouver residents can afford to buy houses - given that their incomes have not kept pace with the rise in housing prices. My apartment in Vancouver, for example, has doubled in price since I bought it in 2005. So those of us already in the market are not hurting - but others, like my daughter, face the prospect of being out of the market for a long time - if not forever.
Howard

Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2015 19:35:04 -0800
From: Richard Man <richard at richardmanphoto.com>
To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
Subject: Re: [Leica] Hong Kong pictures

According to one study, Vancouver is the MOST expensive city, even topping
HK, Tokyo, New York etc. The Mainlanders are moving their money out before
their government can take it away :-)