Unaffordability in Hong Kong property cited as key reason to invest overseas

HONG KONG,Oct. 15,2018 --For their third consecutive year,international real estate investment company IP Global has released a report that details how different regions invest in property. The findings of this report has shown that Hong Kong has been knocked from the number one spot of the world's most active investors,as the UAE has surpassed them for the first time since the study's inception.

The study looked at 5,000 respondents across Hong Kong,UK,UAE and South Africa to find out who is investing,why they are investing and what they are investing in. They found that since the inception of the survey in 2016,the overall percentage of respondents that are currently holding investment assets has grown across all countries,with 84% of respondents from Hong Kong stating they have investments currently and 78% saying they plan to invest in the next 12 months.

They found that the Hong Kong public are interested in investing abroad,with the most popular international property markets being Japan (35%),Thailand (21%) and the UK (both 19%). Respondents said that their key motivators for choosing to invest abroad are potential capital gains (49%),rental income (47%) and portfolio diversification (39%).

Hong Kong respondents aged 55 and over were the most investment savvy with 89% holding investment assets. However in the 18-24 age range,only 58% said they currently hold investment assets. Hong Kong's 18-24 year-olds were also less likely to have plans to invest property in their country of residence (9%) out of the surveyed regions,compared to 23% and 24% in the UAE and South Africa respectively. Unaffordability of the local market is a key reason why people in Hong Kong choose to invest in property markets overseas (31%) and also indicates why Hong Kong's youth aren't investing as much as other regions.

From the data collected,it is plain to see that the rise in Hong Kong property prices has pushed people to invest in international markets instead as they have been unable or unwilling to pay local prices. This trend will endure; as local property prices continues to rise.

About IP Global

IP Global is an end-to-end international property investment company,headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Beijing,Shanghai,London,Dubai,Abu Dhabi,Cape Town,Johannesburg and Singapore. Since our establishment in 2005,we have directed over USD2.8 billion of investment across 30 markets worldwide. Our mission is to change the way the world sees property investment,putting it on a level footing with other globally recognised asset classes. Visit www.ipglobal-ltd.com for more information.

Notes to editors

All figures,unless otherwise stated,are from YouGov Asia Pacific. Total sample size was 5,000 adults,of whom 2,000 were from the UK,1,000 from UAE,000 from Hong Kong and 1,000 from South Africa. Fieldwork was undertaken in late June to early July 2018,and carried out online. Quota sampling was used to ensure that the sample was representative of all online adults (aged 18+) in each country.