Life Inside Hong Kong’s ‘Coffin Cubicles’

to put things into perspective, two flats in the Peak district sold for HKD1.16 billion back in ‘16.

my understanding from some family friends that have been living there for generations is that the government keeps prices up by not giving out permits for development. since HK has none or very low taxes (no VAT, no income/sales tax, no min wage etc etc), one way to raise funds is via stamp duty when buying a flat. thus keeping prices up keeps the coffers full (HK runs a surplus every year that it sometimes distributes back to residents in the form of cash payments)

since my info is based on hearsay from locals, take it with a grain of salt.

sources:

https://m.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2120677/...

https://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2138617/2...