Politics and poor Covid response are driving a Hong Kong exodus. Real-estate experts say the UK, Canada, and Australia are the winners of Hong Kong's loss.

Families in Hong Kong are seeking safe haven in the UK, Canada, and Australia, as Beijing tightened its political control on Hong Kong.Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Image

• Hong Kongers are fleeing the city-state for the UK, Canada, and Australia.
• Many Hong Kong citizens hold dual citizenship in the three Western countries.

Hong Kong's roiling political shift and lackluster COVID-19 response has led to an influx of Hong Kong citizens flooding real-estate markets across the UK, Canada, and Australia.

The exodus has been several years in the making. In 2020, China implemented a restrictive national security law in the city-state, and many residents feared the loss of democratic freedom. Disdain towards their home city grew even stronger during the Covid-19 pandemic, as Hong Kong aligned itself with China's strict zero-Covid strategy. Hong Kong's 7.5 million residents faced mass testings, strict curfews, and chaotic lockdowns during its fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. And up until recently, anyone traveling into Hong Kong was forced to endure — and pay for — a strict three-week quarantine.

The combined forces of China and COVID-19 restrictions led to a population shrinkage of around 23,600 in 2021 alone, per Bloomberg, citing Hong Kong's Immigration Department data.

Insider spoke to real estate experts to find out how the emigration of Hong Kong citizens has benefitted property markets around the world.