Mainland Buyers

Hong Kong’s government raised the stamp duty rate on residential transactions above HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) to 6.5 per cent from 4.25 per cent in its annual budget this Wednesday, amid surging demand from mainland buyers. Analysts say the 2.25 percentage-point increase is unlikely to alter buying behaviour, as structural forces driving mainland Chinese demand outweigh the higher transaction costs. Mainland buyers accounted for about 80 per cent of such HK$100 million-plus deals in the city so far this year.