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When facing the prospect of moving between overseas assignments, expats encounter unique challenges, and such is the case for those planning to settle in Hong Kong. Finding the Top 5 Estate Agents in Hong Kong is essential to effectively navigate the real estate market.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that has become the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, spread around the Pearl River delta in south China.
Hong Kong covers 425 square miles and is home to around 7.5 million people. The city is about 1.5 times larger than New York City, larger than Singapore, but smaller than London.
Most recent news from Hong Kong has involved police repression of public protests against new laws stripping away personal rights imposed by the Beijing government. The disorder is still bubbling beneath the surface, but incidents on the streets have become few and far between.
Personal security is an obvious concern for many expats, but Hong Kong has much less serious crime than most other cities of the same size.
Hong Kong is a prosperous and modern city but is short of land, which makes property prices expensive. Cost of living web tracker Numbeo ranks property in the city as the fifth most expensive in the world. At the same time, Hong Kong is rated one of the richest places in the world.
Most residents live in small apartments in tower blocks, with many buyers and renters chasing limited properties. This can make house hunting a problem for families who need to settle within the easy range of a school or university.
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Hong Kong Property Market
Finding the right home at an affordable price is a constant challenge for expats moving to Hong Kong.
Most expats rent rather than buy due to the sky-high price of homes, but rent still takes a large slice of an income in the city. Rented homes are mainly unfurnished, although landlords supply white goods..
When working out the rental cost, don’t forget to add up to three months’ rent as a security deposit, legal fees and half the first month’s payment as letting agent commission.
Renting a home in Hong Kong
Renting one bedroomed apartment in the city centre costs £1,754 monthly while renting a similar flat outside the city centre reduces to £1,256 monthly.
A larger three-bed home in the centre costs £3,378 monthly and £2,179 in the suburbs.
Add to this day-to-day living costs, and a single expat should budget around £5,000 a month to maintain the same standard of living in both cities.
Buying a home in Hong Kong
Expats can rent or buy a home in Hong Kong without any restriction – although the rules say expats from Afghanistan, Albania, Cuba and North Korea cannot buy homes.
British expats are given residence if they have spent seven years living in Hong Kong.
Property prices are often listed as ‘price per square metre’ or pm2.
An apartment in the city centre costs £23,226 pm2, while the price drops in the suburbs to £15,668 pm2.
Lenders charge 2.84 per cent for a 20-year fixed-rate mortgage.
For investors, rental yields are around 1.7 per cent.
State of the market
Homes in Hong Kong are expensive, but prices are expected to float down over the next couple of years as developers release more than 20,000 new properties onto the market.
Research by the Global Property Guide reports house prices fell by 8.95 per cent in the year to May 2023. This was the 16th month in a row that prices dropped.
The market has also reversed from a growth in transactions of 24 per cent in 2021 to a 44 per cent fall in 2022. The analysis predicts the number of buyers is likely to fall, bringing prices down.
Popular neighbourhoods
Hong Kong is a vibrant multicultural city with a neighbourhood for everyone.
Expats favour the Mid Levels, The Peak and Wan Chai.
Mid Levels is a well-to-do suburb where wealthy locals and professional expats live, giving panoramic views of Victoria Harbour, and is within easy travelling distance of the Central and Admiralty business zones.
The Peak is the highest point in Hong Kong, from where homes have stunning views over the city and harbours. The Peak’s Sky Terrace is the highest viewing platform in the city, and a destination tourists flock to.
Wan Chai is at the city’s heart and includes a busy business district. The area is densely populated, but many buildings are in disrepair as they were built as part of the original colony.
Top 5 Hong Kong Property Websites
Hong Kong is one of the world’s busiest property markets, served by hundreds of brokers and property agents.
The market is market-levelled with specialists ranging from prime luxury homes to short-term apartment lets for expats.
Here are five of Hong Kong’s top estate agents and property-finding websites:
Centanet
Centanet is one of Hong Kong’s largest estate agents, with more than 50,000 homes listed for sale or rent. Established nearly 50 years, the company has 2,000 offices across China, including 400 in Hong Kong.
Centrenet, trading as Centaline Property, deals with buying, selling and renting new and older homes and commercial property – even handling the purchase or rent of car parking spaces.
Website: centanet.com
28hse.com
28hse is a dedicated Hong Kong property-finding service based in the city and exclusively staffed by Hong Kong team members.
The website lists homes for sale or rent and includes a platform for developers advertising new homes. The site is primarily published in Chinese but can be translated to English.
Website: www.28hse.com
Midland Realty
Midland Realty is another estate agent of longstanding in Hong Kong. Established over 50 years ago, the company offers a range of traditional estate agent services across Hong Kong and mainland China through more than 400 branches with nearly 7,000 staff.
The brand also includes Hong Kong Property, a company acquired almost 25 years ago.
Website: www.midland.com.hk
Spacious
Spacious is considered one of the best online property-finding platforms in Hong Kong, concentrating on the top end of the market. The company has no partnerships with or ownership by real estate agents, making Spacious an independent platform.
That independence makes the sales data listed on the site more trustworthy than some commercially driven companies.
Website: www.spacious.hk
House730
Another property finding website offering comprehensive listings of homes for sale and rent in Hong Kong.
The site also allows direct listings from owners and landlords.
House730 is a multilanguage website with an English option.
Website: www.house730.com
Home Hunting in Hong Kong FAQ
This FAQ section answers common questions from expats about buying or renting a home in Hong Kong.
Expats are free to buy or rent homes in Hong Kong, although some nationalities, like Afghans and North Koreans, are excluded.
Hong Kong has ranked in and around the list of places with the most expensive properties for many years. Prices are dropping, and more homes are coming to the market, but demand is still high.
Foreign buyers tend to pay more than Hong Kong, locals, because of a stamp duty surcharge based on the property price on purchase.
If you are resident in Hong Kong and a first-time buyer, banks will lend up to 90 per cent of the purchase price. Most Hong Kong banks have a helpful affordability tool on their websites to help with how much you can borrow and what the repayments will be.
Yes, expats can buy a Hong Kong home with a work permit.
Related Information
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