Hong kong protests to have little impact on property

Photo: @ChelleaJohnson

Hong Kong leader CY Leung has urged crowds to leave "immediately" in the run up to today - Chinese National Day - with the founding of the anniversary of the Communist China expected to draw large crowds.

The Occupy Central protests by students, which are designed to convince Beijing to give Hong Kong a free vote for its leader in the next elections, have been widely reported around the world, dubbed the "umbrella revolution".

Michelle Johnson, International & Features Writer at Hello! Magazine, tweets that the vibe is "peaceful" and "hopeful" and that "many families [are] there".

Nonetheless, "some of the people we met from mainland China said they had heard very little about the gathering movement in Hong Kong", she adds, as local media gives the events less coverage than other countries.

Will the news deter overseas investors or impact the property market? homas Lam, Senior Director, Head of Valuation & Consultancy at Knight Frank, tells OPP Connect that the impact will be small.

"There won’t be material impact; buyers are still looking for attractive investment opportunities."

He added that the activity could cause "a little slow down" for real estate agents conducting business. The events follow previous figures showing a slowing housing market in Hong Kong, as measures to cool down speculation and high price rises have curbed growth in 2014.