The BN(O) effect? Hong Kong migrants’ rush for homes near good schools drives up property prices in some UK cities
- Hongkongers used to buy UK property mainly for investment, but now they want family homes to live in
- Locals like homes near good schools too, but Hongkongers ‘do research and buy when kids are small’
Hongkongers Simon and Amy Ho are preparing to move into the four-bedroom house they bought recently in a London suburb, pleased that their family has a place to call home.
They left Hong Kong in November 2021 for the sake of their sons, Marcus, 10, and Max, eight, and chose a house with a garden in New Malden, South West London, because of the good state schools in the area.
It is also near the hospital where Amy, 47, a registered nurse, is planning to work.
Ho, 46, an IT worker, said their house cost about HK$6.5million (US$832,325), enough to buy two similar properties in a northern city like Manchester or Nottingham, but he added: “We think London has more opportunities for the kids.”
Their suburb and the nearby areas are home to hundreds of recently-arrived Hong Kong families who wanted a house near good schools, with easy access to central London.
Property agents said two areas with large Asian communities – Sutton and Kingston in South London, and Colindale in North London – had become most popular with Hong Kong families.
Some agents said buyers from Hong Kong had created a more competitive market, driving up property prices in some cities. Birmingham and Manchester were popular for those with a lower budget, they added.
Nick Yuen, international business development manager for estate agency Foxtons, said that before 2021, Hong Kong buyers were interested mainly in buying property in new developments for investment.
But the wave of immigration saw more Hongkongers looking for family homes to live in themselves.
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Hong Kong families find fresh start in London
Britain, like Canada and Australia, introduced new migration pathways for Hongkongers after Beijing imposed the national security law in June 2020.
The British National (Overseas) visa scheme allows successful applicants and their dependents to live, work, and study in Britain for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship.
More than 150,600 Hongkongers applied between its launch on January 31, 2021, and September last year. Almost all – 144,576 – were successful.
According to British Land Registry data, house prices in London areas popular with Hong Kong migrants rose by about 6 to 8 per cent last year.
Property agency Benham and Reeves, which analysed official data, said that between January 2020 and August 2021, the number of Hong Kong property owners in London rose by almost 10 per cent.
The biggest increases of between 25 and almost 60 per cent were at Kingston upon Thames – next to the suburb where the Ho family bought their home – Enfield and Richmond.
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Outside London, Hongkongers made up just over a quarter of overseas property owners in Manchester and almost a fifth in Birmingham.
Hongkongers Ting Wong, 38, and her husband Sam Lee, 41, set up Winnex Estate Agents last August, after moving to Britain under the BN(O) visa scheme and settling in New Malden with their daughters aged three and eight. Lee had 18 years of experience in real estate before moving to Britain.
So far, they have helped around 20 Hongkongers buy homes, mostly in London.
Wong said for the immigrants, being close to good schools was a priority and those who preferred living in London considered the job opportunities there.
She said buyers were prepared to pay between HK$4.6 million and HK$12 million in London, or between HK$2.3 million and HK$4.1 million in cities such as Birmingham and Manchester.
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She said the migrants brought the Hong Kong culture of wanting a good investment and access to schools when choosing their homes.
“These families are looking for good education, good community, low crime rate and the price reflects all this,” Wong said.
Yan Yan, a senior associate director from real estate firm Savills, said British buyers also liked being near good schools, but Hongkongers planned well in advance, buying while their children were still young.
James Ackrill, of London agency Centrick Property, said Hongkongers did extensive research which allowed them to decide much faster than locals when it came to buying.
Marc von Grundherr, a director at Benham and Reeves, which has offices in Hong Kong and London, said both sets of buyers were competing for similar properties in similar locations at around the same price of up to HK$5.7 million.
Acknowledging the impact of the Hong Kong arrivals, he said: “It is making prices strong in those areas because they are competing with local people there.”
