In Hong Kong, rents in high-end enclaves are plunging, international schools are closing, and the car market is saturated with second-hand luxury cars as expatriates leave in droves.
For many expats Singapore, Hong Kong’s long-time rival as a regional hub, is the obvious alternative. The change in preference has stoked an already tight housing market and suddenly Singapore rents are on par, or even higher, than Hong Kong’s. And that’s if you can find an apartment.
Her daughter was in a kindergarten class where children and teachers had to wear masks. “We loved living there for a long time. Adelaide was born there. But it no longer made sense for Hong Kong to be our home.”is buzzing again. The city-state has also introduced a new visa, the Overseas Networks and Expertise pass, to attract a particular class of foreign talent.
“It’s not only affecting property rentals. I go to the supermarket and the notice board has a lot more relocation sales of Mercedes and BMWs.” “Even before the pandemic, some expats were looking to move because of the protests and during the pandemic, of course, less people were moving to Hong Kong. Many who stayed are angry and disappointed and moving to Singapore,” says Winsome Lee, a Hong Kong property agent who manages properties rented to expatriates.
“I loved living in Singapore, but the government doesn’t make it easy to put your kids in local schools, and it will cost my employer less to fly me there a few times a year than to give me an allowance sufficient to cover the living costs there. Expats are also competing with increasing numbers of Singaporeans keen to live in larger properties in condos with pools and other amenities that are not part of the subsidised public housing.