China’s robust and booming property markets have recently led to an influx of property investors coming to mainland China to capitalise on the ever upward property prices.

This would lead most people to think that mainland Chinese are doing the same, and they would be correct. However there is another trend that has occurred as a double -wammy of the strong Chinese economic markets and the recently crashing prices of the rest of the world. This is particularly noticeable in the markets of Hong Kong and Macao, as well as key areas in Japan.

Despite strong currency regulations restricting the flow of money out of mainland China many Chinese are turning to the depressed markets to invest their money in property. Hong Kong recent property prices shot up 30% in the last few months, responding to the sharp increase in demand.

But many of the Chinese are essentially breaking the law by doing so-why do they take these risks? The penalties of the Chinese government are not light, but it seems that they do not deter profit-hungry Chinese nationals who see property in Hong Kong and other places not only as a great investment but also as gateway to the outside world.

One of the main reasons for this is that although the law is clear on the limits of taking ‘The Peoples Currency’ out of China it is rather slack in it’s true application of the laws, even for the average Chinese person there are numerous ‘under the table’ approaches to getting cash out of the country via offshore banking or something as simple as carrying a suitcase full of cash across the border or contacting family members to group cash together. Hong Kong also seems to encourage this influx of cash stating that a suitable investor can become a resident by investing 6.5 million Hong Kong dollars.

But this is not all good. Especially for the locals of Hong Kong. There exists potential for the property markets to experience runaway price inflation where property bubbles vastly outstrip local wages and living costs, the problem is a tricky one as there is no shortage of mainland Chinese with money to fuel the bubble.