Housing in HK

Greetings,


I am an American currently living in Shanghai, but I have two older family members that are moving to Hong Kong or Singapore later this year (non-work related).


I have some general questions and would be appreciative of all constructive feedback.


1) Are there places in Hong Kong where they can rent a decently constructed house without breaking the bank? Preferably places under 30,000 HKD pm. And yes, I do know that housing in HK is very expensive, so 30,000 HKD pm is quite low. They need not commute to work so being more isolated is not an issue as long as a supermarket is not too far away.


I am not interested in specific properties for rent, but rather just general areas of Hong Kong in which to look to find these types of rentals (for example: Northeast Hong Kong, or ABC District).


2) Same question as #1, but with condos. Once again, decent quality & lower price trump any location considerations (they need not commute).


3) I have seen ads online for villas / condos for rent in Hong Kong, but are the ads reliable? I know that in Shanghai most all real estate advertisements are fraudulent (pictures wrong, price wrong, property might not even exist).


Thank you for your assistance!

Hi there,


There's a few options for you. First is Sai Kung, which is in the New Territories (North Eastern Hong Kong). In fact, all of the new territories are much cheaper than staying on Hong Kong island so definitely one to explore.


Secondly, check out Cheung Chau and Lamma islands. They also have reasonably priced houses, although fewer amenities.


Good luck!

Hannah, thank you very much for your reply.


Are any of those parts of Hong Kong with slightly cleaner air? One of my family members has lots of allergies and I worry about how he would do in Hong Kong.


Thanks again!

Agree with Cara. Location makes very little difference to air quality in Hong Kong. Pollution here is bad! Any one who tells you otherwise are kidding themselves.

Agree with the other posts, the New Territories would be quite a good option to find something decent under 30k.


Sai Kung is a nice area popular with many expats. Sai Kung town itself doenst offer too many decent options. The surrounding villages (30 or so), could offer you some options, but not sure if village houses (and the environment) fall into the decent category for you. Villa's would be out of the budget mentioned.


You might also consider Discovery Bay, Gold Coast (Castle Peak Bay area), and perhaps Tung Chung. All these areas are popular with expats, have a shopping mall within a few minutes walk, and for 30k you could get a decent sized apartment (perhaps around 1200 sq/ft). For something closer to the city, but half the size, you could try Beacon Hill (Kowloon Tong area). This area is well known for its relatively low density living.


Air qualtiy is not great in HK as you probably already know, but if its for the short term then i wouldnt worry. Contrary to some of the posts, you can't even begin to compare roadside polution between Central/TST to areas with low traffic like Beacon Hill which sits high up next to a country park. Many HK people go hiking for this very reason.. air quality is better the higher and further you get from heavy traffic and where there is more vegetation. South Lantau would also be a good choice for this reason. But im sure there will be some doomsdayers who will differ. Air polution is bad in comparison to other cities.. but we all continue breathing and living in this city... no mass exodus as yet.


Regarding your 3rd point, the best thing is to contact an agency directly and ask for a current list of properties and prices. If you need a good agent in Beacon Hill/Kowloon Tong area just PM me.