Hong Kong saw its population grow by 2%, or 152,000 people, in the past year to June from a year earlier, with government partly attributing the rise to the different talent attraction programs. Almost 26,000 applications for the Top Talent Pass Scheme have been approved as of June, according to government data.
Leasing demand from mainland Chinese “is just ever-increasing since the border opening,” said Derek Sun, managing director at Signature Homes, a long-term leasing and serviced-apartment brand owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. “I think the biggest change since the border opening is the increase in the young talent because of the Top Talent Pass Scheme that the government has been pushing.”
In west Kowloon’s Nam Cheong, a neighborhood that has become more popular with mainland Chinese, 60% of rental deals since June were signed by such tenants, according to Roy Yee, a senior district sales manager at Midland Realty for the area. Among his clients, around one out of three came to Hong Kong via the Top Talent Pass Scheme, he added.