New to Hong Kong, could use some advice on apartment

Hello all, I've just moved to Hong Kong and am currently staying in a serviced apartment in the Soho area. I really like the food and some of the small bars in the area. I need to find an apartment to live in longer term. I'm looking at the following locations:


Bella Vista in Mid Levels West

Scenic Rise in Mid Levels West

Reading Place in Mid Levels West

The Zenith in Wan Chai

York Place in Wan Chai

J-Residence in Wan Chai


I'm single, in my mid-thirties, enjoying going to bars and meeting people and networking (LKF on weekends is too crazy for me). I love good food and wine. I don't mind walking a bit to get to transportation and like the MTR (though anything in mid-levels would need a close walk to escalator...I don't think I could handle walking up that hill on a regular basis). I want to find an apartment that has a decent view (water or city...not too blocked by buildings), modern furniture, gym (pool added bonus), something over 500 SqFt in the $20-$30k range. I'd prefer something more singles oriented instead of lots of families with children. Does anyone have experience with these buildings or locations that they could share? I'd greatly appreciate it.

Hi, welcome to HK! I previously viewed some of the properties you mentioned and can share the following with you:


Bella Vista in Mid Levels West - Whilst near Caine Road, which is where you can find all the amenities, it is at the end of a small road so away from the bustle of Caine. I recall viewing a 700 hundred odd sq ft flat there and the bedrooms were tiny. If you are one who likes big beds, this may not be for you. Still, a really nice apartment block worth a look. Not near an MTR station. You could probably walk to IFC (Hong Kong station) and Central station in about 10-15 minutes.


Scenic Rise in Mid Levels West - Great location, right beside a quiet stretch of the escalator. Close enough to the amenities along Caine. Some apartment have nice views. 10-15 minutes walk to the closest MTR stations.


Reading Place in Mid Levels West - I think this is near Bonham Road. Neither near an MTR (at least not yet, there is supposed to be an upcoming station nearby) nor the escalator. It has some nice apartments but the whole area feels a little "cluttered" to me. Also, the apartment is up a small road which taxis don't seem to like to turn into.


The Zenith in Wan Chai - The location is great in terms of transportation as it is walking distance to Wanchai MTR and surrounded by markets, supermarkets and restaurants. The apartment blocks are relatively new (at least by HK standards) and a lot of units are still in good condition. Still prefer the tranquility of Mid Levels though.


Based on your requirements, you may also wish to consider looking around Star Street. Nice quiet area with plenty of restaurants, that is near Pacific Place 3 and Admiralty MTR station. The apartments there mostly less than 800 sq ft so I would think there would be more singles there than families.


Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback, that is incredibly helpful. I've started calling on a few apartments I saw on squarefoot.com, but it seems many of the listings are outdated. Looks like it will be easiest to find a realtor company and work with them to find units as they come on the market. Definitely leaning toward the Bella Vista and Scenic Rise if I can find something up high there.

If you want up-to-date listings I suggest you look here http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/property/ because other property sites seem more concerned with total volume of listings rather than accuracy or availability.


We auto delete all listings after a couple of weeks - unless the agent responds to an email asking them to confirm the property is still available.


Also, if an agent posts listings that are expired or that misrepresent properties they get one warning... if they continue they are blacklisted.

You are welcome, mindwrack. I had the same experience with some property listing sites. Most were either unavailable by the time I called (even though the post date may have only been a few days before) or had grossly inaccurate prices and pictures. I think your best bet would be to work with one or two agents. Try to find one located within the vicinity of the apartments you like. A less conventional approach is to go up to the management office of the blocks you like and enquire if there are units available for rent. Most may not know but it is worth a try to save on commission.