Buying Property in Hong Kong as a Foreigner (2026): What Changed and How to Buy

Published on: June 23, 2026

Quick answer: For over a decade, foreign buyers paid punitive extra stamp duties in Hong Kong. In the budget delivered on 28 February 2024 the government abolished all of them (Buyer's Stamp Duty, Special Stamp Duty, and New Residential Stamp Duty), and they remain gone in 2026, so a non-permanent resident now pays the same Ad Valorem Stamp Duty as a local. There are no restrictions on foreigners owning residential property, though almost all land is held on long government leases rather than true freehold, and Hong Kong has no general capital gains tax. Expect high prices and modest rental yields of around 2 to 3%.

For more than a decade, Hong Kong was effectively closed to overseas property buyers. A wall of "cooling" taxes meant a non-permanent resident could pay an extra 15%, later 7.5%, just for being foreign, on top of everything else. Then, in early 2024, the government tore that wall down. For international buyers, Hong Kong's residential market reopened almost overnight.

If you've been waiting on stale information, this is the reset. Here's what actually changed, what it costs to buy today, and how the process works for a foreign purchaser in 2026.

The change that reopened the market

In the 2024 to 25 Budget delivered on 28 February 2024, Hong Kong abolished all demand-side management measures for residential property, effective immediately. In plain terms, three taxes that had blocked foreign and speculative buyers disappeared:

  • Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD), previously up to 15% (reduced to 7.5% in late 2023) on purchases by non-permanent residents, removed.
  • Special Stamp Duty (SSD), a penalty of up to 20% for selling within a holding period, removed, so there is no longer any minimum hold.
  • New Residential Stamp Duty (NRSD), removed.

These remain abolished in 2026. The practical result is striking: a non-Hong Kong permanent resident now pays the same stamp duty as a local buyer, and companies can once again purchase residential property without punitive extra duty.

What stamp duty you actually pay in 2026

With the cooling measures gone, the only stamp duty on a residential purchase is the Ad Valorem Stamp Duty (AVD), charged on the higher of price or market value under the progressive Scale 2 rates. These run from a nominal HK

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