Over the last three months, millions of people in Hong Kong have demonstrated on the streets during weekends. Although the extradition bill has now official been withdrawn (which is one of the five demands of Hong Kongers), it remains to be seen that peace will come back to the streets in Hong Kong.
Thousands of people in Hong Kong are taking no chances however. Many have started searching for a new home overseas - especially in those countries with freedom of speech, good education and living environment and English speaking communities. Every day, conversations among Hong Kongers are going back to the topic of demonstrations and what to do if things do not improve. Furthermore, real estate in Hong Kong is extremely expensive. Media regularly reports on the fact that Hong Kong has the most expensive real estate market in the world. As a result, a large number of people are scanning real estate and immigration processes in other countries to evaluate their options.
As such, rich Hong Kongers are a new group of buyers of overseas real estate. Real estate agents across several markets have already seen an uptick in inquiries.