AN influx of people from the mainland taking advantage of a new visa program to work in Hong Kong is helping buoy rents in the city to the highest level in almost two years, reversing a downward trend that started during the pandemic.

Hong Kong saw its population grow by 2%, or 152,000 people, in the past year to June from a year earlier, with officials partly attributing the rise to the different talent attraction programs.

Almost 26,000 applications for the “Top Talent Pass Scheme” had been approved as of June, according to government data.

The program was introduced in October after Hong Kong’s labor force shrank by 140,000 in recent years. Most of the applicants are from the mainland.

As a result, home rents had softened in one of the world’s most expensive markets but have rebounded since the border with the mainland reopened. Rents rose for six straight months to the highest since late 2021 in July, according to Midland Realty.

The real estate agency expects rents in 2023 to increase as much as 10%, the biggest growth in 11 years as the inflow from the mainland continues. A July report from Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that rentals in Hong Kong could rise at least 5% this year thanks to demand from mainlanders moving to the city.

Leasing demand from mainland people “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. (SD-Agencies)