Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnMan
I think that's because housing is an essential item while cars are not (well at least not in HK). Everyone needs a roof over their heads but not everyone needs a bimmer.
All this anti-mainland sentiment in HK is rooted in the belief that rich mainlanders are driving up housing prices to the extent that local Hkers can no longer afford housing no matter how hard they work. So if you feel you are working so hard and putting 101% effort into your career in hopes of boosting your income, yet still cannot afford a decent house you feel you deserve, of course one would be angry. There is now a role reversal of sorts. While Hkers used to look down on mainlanders as backward "Ah Chans", now mainlanders look down on HKers as "poor locals".
Plus the fact our dollar is tied to the US dollar which is depreciating so that further eats into our spending power. (That's why I bought quite alot of yuan last year!)
Ultimately, if you think about it, the blame does not lie with mainlanders but our own city. The land policy and HK government reliance on land as primary source of revenue. This is compounded by the fact that HK's economy has yet to develop really strong alternative industries that would wean it's reliance off real estate. This has bedeviled HK since before the handover and remains the key problem. Mainlanders only take advantage of this conundrum to enrich themselves (as have many mega-rich Hkers). So now even many middle-class people, professionals or management folks like ourselves are squeezed dried.
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Agreed with everything you say.
It's sort of sad how things are. But on the other hand, many tycoons did get to where they are today because of the insane housing market. Of course the opposite is true as well.