Outside of New York, Hong Kong is one of the most expensive places to live in the world. This has caused a lack of affordable housing in the rental market, which has seen many choose to leave Hong Kong for cheaper areas.
The Guardian reported that Hong Kong’s population dropped from 7.41 million in mid-2021 to 7.29 million in mid-2022 and that the waiting list for public housing takes over six years to be allocated somewhere.
Due to the high levels of rent, owning property is out of the question for many Hong Kong residents. One estimate suggests that it takes 23 years to afford a medial-size apartment on a median income, and that’s without spending any money.
With this in mind, Hong Kong’s rental market is experiencing a similar slump to the overall housing sector as more and more people decide to leave the city for cheaper areas.
Again the UK rental market is experiencing trends that are practically the opposite of what Hong Kong is going through, with high demand for rental properties leading to rising rents across the nation.
Homelet’s Rental Index states that as of November 2022, the average rent in the UK comes to £1,175 per calendar month, a rise of 11.1% from the year before.
An increasing number of people are choosing to rent rather than buy property due to rising mortgage interest rates, which is good news for property investors as this high demand and increasing rent mean more rental income from investment properties.
The high demand from renters also results in shorter waiting times to fill investment properties, so UK investors begin earning returns on their investment portfolios sooner than if they were to invest in an unaffordable area like Hong Kong.
If you want to learn more about investing in the UK, try our free guide to foreign investment in the UK, where we break down what you can expect as an overseas investor.
One of the most popular ways of investing in UK property right now is through off-plan property developments, thanks to the falling GBP’s effects on the international market and rising interest rates meaning now is the perfect time to invest in off-plan.