Not everyone in Hong Kong is a rich billionaire, thus, not everyone can afford to migrate to Singapore to avoid the raging political unrest that has been going on for months now.
As Hong Kong’s anti-government protests are nearing its fourth month, many well-heeled people in Hong Kong have been weighing their options and looking for alternative lifestyles and busy making and implementing their “exit” plans. These plans range from getting funds out of Hong Kong or physically moving from the city.
However, contrary to most people’s predictions, Singapore’s housing market is not turning out to be the beneficiary of Hong Kong’s protests. Instead, investors are looking to cheaper property markets like Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan.
It is not that Hong Kong buyers are deliberately avoiding Singapore, many simply do not have the money to move to a city where property is also expensive. For those who can afford it, they like Singapore’s active resale market.
“Professionals are interested in Singapore because it’s politically stable and safe,” said David Hui, a general manager at Centaline. They’re mostly in “finance or law, or owners of businesses over 35.”
Yet even Hui said that with all the talk of people relocating to Singapore, the Malaysian flats are actually the ones that are selling, with transaction volumes in some areas up as much as 50%.
“The Hong Kong protests are like hitting a beehive with a stick,” Savills’ Alan Cheong said. “The bees buzz out of the hive, but they’re not all flying to Singapore. They’re going everywhere else instead.”
“People here tend to think there are only two cities in the world – Hong Kong and Singapore,” ……. “They think if people flee Hong Kong, they’ll all automatically come to Singapore. But everyone isn’t Li Ka-shing. Most are just ordinary salaried workers,” he said, referring to Hong Kong’s richest billionaire.