Posted by
Welshy
16 yrs ago
Hi all,
My wife and I will be visiting HK in the coming months and would like to visit potential areas of HK that we would move to.
The question we have is if we wanted a house, we assume it couldn't be within the city but what areas have houses and are they expensive?
Also, for an apartment, what areas are expensive and what areas are reasonably priced.
Thanks guys and gals!
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I recommend starting with a search of this forum. Lots of info on the subject.
What is your budget?
For houses, you have Clearwater Bay and Sha Tin for example if you want "expat friendly". Don't know the exact prices but certainly you can get by for under 30-40k. Note that transportation costs and times increase dramatically.
You can get nice townhouses in Repulse Bay, Shouson Hill, Stanley, Red Hill, but they're not cheap. For example a small-ish 3 bedroom townhouse in Repulse Bay is over 100k.
Facilities do affect prices a lot. You can easily pay 20-30k more for the same size in the same area if it has a nice pool as opposed to no pool.
Areas for apartments on the Island in MORE OR LESS descending order of cost:
- The Peak
- Repulse Bay
- Stanley
- Red Hill
- Parkview
- Shouson Hill
- Jardine's Lookout
- Midlevels (big range here)
- Pok fu Lam
- Happy Valley
- Kennedy Town
- Tai Koo.
- Quarry Bay
One bit of advice: Don't try to replicate your "old life". Many of us had houses before we moved to HK but now we have apartments. Different place. Different lifestyle. Apartments in Europe and North America are often thought of as places you live before you move to a house. Not so here. The standard of many apartments is way beyond your typical apartment in the West, since people expect to live their entire lives in them. You can have a house. Many do. Nothing wrong with that. But the market is way different so don't constrain your choices just because you had a house before.
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@axptguy38, pretty well versed in HK's property market enough to be able to come up with a list in order of cost! :)
Kowloon Tong in the centre of Kowloon side also has some medium-ranged houses to offer, and the transportation is well connected.
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I suggest you start from your workplace and make circle that represents an acceptable commuting time. I have colleague at my office who commutes 80 minutes each way(if the buses and ferry schedules are just right) to the office. I personally would not invest that much of my day (and expense) commuting. I am willing to accept a smaller living space and more noise to avoid the commute. Other people are willing to accept the longer commuting time to provide a better living arrangement for their family. There are village houses available in the New Territories and Lantau, but we then assume that you will be working from home.
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Ed
16 yrs ago
You can find comprehensive listings on the number one property site in Hong Kong
http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/property/
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axptguy's list or areas in terms of order of cost is incorrect and misleading. There are several property agents with listings on the web and you could also try squarefoot.com
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First of all, note that I said "more or less".
Secondly, I don't have to be right. In fact I always welcome learning more. But if you're going to say I wrote something incorrect and misleading please do us all a favor and correct it.
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I would say more or less its still incorrect and misleading. Houses in Pokfulam more expensive than houses in Repulse Bay and houses in Happy Valley more expensive than houses in Pokfulam on a sq ft basis. Best to take a look at properties that you think you may want, size, location etc then look at the various property agents websites and you could also contact the relocation companies here who would be very happy to give you advice.
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Prices vary widely between developments. There will always be a high end and a low end in each area and they may vary a lot. The important thing is to look at the average. Also, Pok Fu Lam is a rather spread out and diverse area compared to Repulse Bay, leading to a bigger price range.
I'm not an expert. I do find it funny that none of the people who say I am wrong has put up their own list. I'm ok with being wrong. Really, I am. But you can't just say I'm wrong and then not tell us where I went wrong.
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lalib
16 yrs ago
Welshy,
Have a look at at discovery bay, its 25 mins by ferry from HK Island. many expats live here. The quality of life is good, nice contrast from the hussle buslte of HK + Kowloon.
Also in terms of property you can rent a nice 2 bedroom between 9 - 12 K - this is good value compared to similar property in HK + Kowloon. of course the transportation costs are higher but even when factored in its not that bad.
One more thing, if your coming to HK and need a service apartment many residents rent out their flats as serviced apartments and roughly charge 500 - 700 per nite. Thats a good price compared to hotels or other service apartments in HK.
Check out their forum
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Agree with axptguy, Repulse is lot more expensive in general than Pok Fu Lam.I have never thought of a list like this before and looking through it, I think 'more or less' it is right
I would like to see JJchan or Pippa's ranking of the top 15 areas on Hong Kong Island.
Easy to criticise-hard to deliver.
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I too agree axpatguy's list is very much generalization. Do you have children? If so you may want to look at school place availibility then decide on location.
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axptguy's list talks about apartments and jjchan mentions houses. Perhaps that is why the difference. The number of houses in Pokfulam is much less than Repulse Bay and perhaps that is what is driving the price.
In terms of apartments' prices, I would tend to agree with axptguy's list. If the OP wants to look for houses (with gardens, etc.) then Jardine's Lookout has some older ones that are in the $100-$200k per month range.
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