HK Prop Mkt

I like to read and know about actual real life situations on the ground. In the article below, a 32 yr old clerk and another 32 yr old office assistant were reported to be buying HK properties.

Given the occupations of both are that of the usual middle class folks, it is interesting to know that while HK property prices are universally acknowledged to be sky high, middle class are somehow able to "afford".

In S'pore, there are also compilants abt HDB being expensive & unaffordable, while at the same time, we also read abt newly married couples happily getting their BTO or re-sale flats near their parents.

Although I don't think/feel HK or SG properties(or HDB) are cheap, I cannot help to wonder - cld those who grumble abt not being able to afford property prices be too idealistic ? I am not sure, but I am guessing maybe some of the young HK protestors, social media influencers, youtubers, who do not follow the boring, unglamorous, stressful, torturous(esp with a bad boss) 9am to 9pm working lives to slowly rise up the ranks, receive salary increments/bonus and saving up for that house.  

It seems more youngers nowadays like to be an influencer or a youtuber. While there are reports of successful ones owning luxurious cars but I think these are few and far between(or cld I be wrong) ? 

Working for passion / fun / a worthy cause is good but imho, may not bring home the bacon. Yes, life is not a bed of roses, but what can we do other than to adapt ?

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HK's sky-high property prices prove resilient in face of protests
Mon, Sep 30, 2019 - 5:50 AM

Hong Kong

WHILE months of Hong Kong protests have scared away tourists, sent jitters across the financial centre and cast a dark cloud over the local economy, there's one thing residents of the city are confident they can bank on - sky-high property prices.....

Lily Chow, a 32-year-old clerk, is among the lucky ones. She and her husband recently snapped up a two-bedroom apartment off the plans for HK$7.5 million (S$1.32 million) in the New Territories......

"The political environment is shakeable, but I am pretty sure the property market is unshakeable," said office assistant Candy Lau, 32, as she queued for an HK$8 million, 273 sq ft, one-room apartment in the development by Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong's largest developer by market value.......

Read more : https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-es...f-protests

(30-09-2019, 09:59 PM)dreamybear Wrote: I like to read and know about actual real life situations on the ground. In the article below, a 32 yr old clerk and another 32 yr old office assistant were reported to be buying HK properties.

Given the occupations of both are that of the usual middle class folks, it is interesting to know that while HK property prices are universally acknowledged to be sky high, middle class are somehow able to "afford".

In S'pore, there are also compilants abt HDB being expensive & unaffordable, while at the same time, we also read abt newly married couples happily getting their BTO or re-sale flats near their parents.

Read more : https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-es...f-protests

The article did not mention whether the couples seek helped from their parents. I believe they did. In spore, a few of my frends already purchased at least one property intending to hand it over to their children.

They may well have financial support from their parents.

For those without, it is still not impossible to purchase a S$1.3m property. The requirement is that husband and wife both need to earning median income salaries, work for 30 or more years, and live frugally.

In other words, work your entire life to support the mortgage and interests. There will not likely be any spare cash for other (types of) investments, so the S$1.3m property will be the family's sole and largest asset.

So a family relying on such a strategy is assuming that property values will appreciate, at least above inflation/interest rate, over the very long-term.

Wld this possibly signal an impending property mkt correction in HK, albeit it is a single site ? In any case, I am inclined to think that the possibility of a weaker residential mkt is getting higher as days go by.

Doesn't look like a "desperate fire sale" by Goldin Financial Holding with HKD$4b cash on hand. Goldin also rescinded a winning bid 11 mths earlier.

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Hong Kong developer loses record US$331.5 million on resale of residential land at Kai Tak as coronavirus darkens market outlook
Published: 12:53pm, 11 May, 2020
https://www.scmp.com/business/article/30...nd-kai-tak

Just look at the Goldin stock price. Looks more like for frying stock, than real business.