The tax you pay will be based on several different factors:
property type (residential / non-residential)
total purchase value
are you a permanent resident of Hong Kong? If so, do you own any other properties in Hong Kong?
are you purchasing the property under a company name? or as an individual?
Assuming:
you are buying as an individual
you are a permanent resident of Hong Kong and don't own any other properties
you are purchasing a residential property
Then your stamp duty payable will follow the following scale:
I'm not sure about others but we are planning to launch one over the next 2-3 months. It'll likely be the first to launch in HK. We are also aware of several projects happening in HK that are also moving towards doing an STO - but launch dates are still unclear.
Airbnb is legalized in Japan, however Kyoto does not support Airbnb (max 60 days allowed per year), basically Osaka city is the place to go for Airbnb (whole year 365 days possible), because they will have World Expo and likely MGM Casino developments coming up, the hospitality demand is high and growing for Osaka.
0.5% up to and including the first $55,000
1% of the value which exceeds $55,000 up to and including $250,000
1.5% of the value between $250,000 and $400,000
2% of the value between $400,000 and $2,000,000
2.5% of the value over $2,000,000
Organize your finances and establish moving costs – legal fees, lender fees, and broker fees.
Organize a mortgage pre-approval if necessary and find out how much you can borrow.
Find a property through an agent or buyers agent.
Get it under offer once you or your buyer's agents agrees on a price with the seller.
Find a solicitor for conveyancing and due diligence.
Survey and mortgage offer (if necessary)
Exchange of Contracts and pay a deposit (usually 10%) and agree on the completion date.
Completion
It depends on what your investment objectives are and the budget you have available to buy. However, generally speaking, Prime Central London has the most demand and least supply, therefore logically Prime Central London is the “better” investment.
The council tax is calculated based on the assumed capital value of your property on a certain date. Once the value of your property is calculated than your specific apartment will fall within a certain band (between A-H) which is your payable amount per annum. Note that if your property is used as a rental investment then the council tax is payable by your tenant.
It depends on whether this is a first hand or second-hand stock – first hand being purchases straight from developers (usually less or no fee from this), this way usually no fees from the buyer. Second-hand stock (from other investors/individuals) then shall probably require some professional fee (to the agent) usually at 1% of the total consideration.