Anniversary of the HKSAR
Today, it is the 14th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region establishment, a public holiday and it’s raining. Luckily, a cooling down for Hong Kong’s warm weather.
In other words, it is 14 years ago since the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China, referred to as ‘the Return’, took place on 1 July, 1997. The event marked the end of British rule, and the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China.
The financial hub, famous for its sky-high rents and super-rich tycoons, has seen home prices surge on the back of record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy buyers from mainland China.
To tackle Hong Kong’s soaring property market, the government has imposed new taxes and staged a series of land auctions in the past year-and-a-half to boost supply and bring down prices.
But despite the earlier measures, some properties are still fetching eye-popping prices – the home of France’s top diplomat sold last month for HK$580 million ($74.5 million).
A study by US consultancy Demographia in January found Hong Kong’s home prices were the least affordable in the world.
