In Hong Kong’s relentless property downturn, there is one bright area for investors: buying hotels and converting them into student housing or rental units.
AEW Capital Management and PGIM Real Estate are among firms that have acquired hotels in the city after prices dropped during the pandemic, just as the government began a drive to attract tens of thousands of foreign students and talent.
The financial hub has seen 14.5 billion Hong Kong dollars' ($1.9 billion) worth of transactions involving hotels since the COVID-19 outbreak through the first quarter, and 61% of those rooms have been converted to student living or rental properties, according to data consolidated by Colliers International Group.