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In boost for Hong Kong buyers, UK home prices have trailed those in EU states in six years since Brexit vote

  • Since June 23, 2016, house prices across EU states have risen by 39.3 per cent on average, while those in the UK increased by 30.8 per cent
  • First-time buyers may take some solace from the UK’s more relaxed pace of growth since Brexit, Knight Frank report says

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An estate agents’ office in London. Investors can expect home prices in the UK to moderate to single-digit growth by the end of the year, Knight Frank says. Photo: Bloomberg
Cheryl Arcibal
Growth in home prices in the United Kingdom has trailed peers in the European Union (EU), but has provided Hongkongers buying property in London and other British cities more value for their money.
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According to a study published by Knight Frank recently, since June 23, 2016 – when 52 per cent of British voters shocked the world by deciding that London should go it alone – house prices across EU member states have risen by 39.3 per cent on average, with almost half the rate of growth occurring in the past two years during the coronavirus pandemic. House prices in the UK increased by 30.8 per cent over the six-year period.

“While UK investors will look enviously at the European Union’s outperformance – first time buyers in the UK may take some solace from the UK’s more relaxed pace of growth since Brexit,” the report said.

The more relaxed pace will be a boon for Hongkongers who have either bought a property in the UK, or are planning to buy, as they emigrate to London and other British cities on British National (Overseas) visas, a fast-track residency scheme. As of May, 123,400 Hongkongers had applied under the scheme since its launch in January 2021. More than nine out of 10 have been successful in their applications, according to the British government.

More than 8,500 Hong Kong students are also estimated to have applied for school places in the UK since last September, with 8,000 getting offers, according to the British government.

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The average house price in the UK rose to £281,000 (US$344,000) in April, an increase of 12.4 per cent from a year ago, and faster than a 9.7 per cent rise in March, according to the latest official data.

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