With the new Policy Address approaching in September, the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong (REDA) has submitted its recommendations to the government. Keith Leung Chi-kin, Chairman of the Executive Committee of REDA, recently stated in a radio interview that they have proposed raising the property value limit for the $100 stamp duty to $6 million, up from the current $4 million.
Leung Chi-kin believes that while this change might lead to a short-term decrease in stamp duty revenue, the potential increase in transaction volume would offset this loss, resulting in no long-term reduction in government income. He also suggested that for investment immigration, the cap on residential property purchases should be increased from the current $10 million to $20 million. This would allow a larger portion of a $50 million or more property purchase to be counted towards the investment threshold.
Regarding the property market outlook, he noted that the market has shown signs of recovery over the past two months. He anticipates that property prices will rise by 4% to 5% between now and the end of the year, expecting the market to improve as the economy recovers.