Luxury properties costliest in HK: Survey

 

　　The Chinese city is the most expensive location amongst the 15 global cities tracked by Knight Frank to buy luxury residential properties where non-residents can expect to pay 25 percent on top of the purchase price when buying a US$3 million home. The bulk of this cost consists of stamp duty and a property tax levied on foreign non-permanent residents.

 

　　Singapore was the runner-up on the list where an 18-percent rate of stamp duty is applied for non-residents, the highest among all the world cities surveyed in the report, including London, Sydney, New York, Moscow and Dubai. The Southeast Asian city state raised the stamp duty in January 2013.

 

　　Although Hong Kong came out on top on the list of purchase cost, the opposite is true when it comes to the annual cost of owning a property as buyers are not required to pay any ongoing property, land or council taxes, Knight Frank said.