Hong Kong homeowners may sell as much as HK$150 bn ($19.3bn) worth of property this year when residents emigrate to the UK.

An estimated 13,100 to 16,300 households will move to the UK via their British National (Overseas) visas in 2021, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Patrick Wong said in a report today (27 April).

The number represents 0.9% to 1.1% of households living in privately owned homes.

If all of them sell their properties to fund their move and living costs, they could generate a maximum of HK$150bn in 2021 alone, Bloomberg estimates showed.

The UK government's plan to make it easier for Hong Kong residents with BN(O) status to obtain citizenship is prompting a migration and rise in home offers.

Property listings at Centaline, Hong Kong's largest real estate agency, surged by 44% from a year earlier to more than 40,000 homes.

But Bloomberg also pointed out that buyers, including from mainland China, are absorbing the increased supply in the market.

Prices in the city remain resilient, with current values just 5.4% lower than the historical peak set in mid-2019. Mortgage rates also dropped to the lowest in more than a decade, boosting the appetite of home buyers. Bloomberg Intelligence further predicted that used-home prices will grow 5% to 10% this year.

More than 35,000 eligible Hong Kongers have applied for the British National (Overseas) visas program, The Times reported earlier this month.

Subscribe to International Investment's free newsletter