# Housing in HK



## lucane (Jan 17, 2012)

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!


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## JWilliamson (May 31, 2010)

You can find anywhere in HK a place for 9,000 HKD. That will get them a 500 sq ft place and nothing more then that.


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## AndrewC (Mar 14, 2012)

It really depends on what your family wants to do. Exploring? Going to Western/Eastern restaurants? Sight-seeing?

The area around Sai Kung is great for exploring as well as shopping and the average price there is 8-10k, dependent on size, location, etc. 

The main problem is that most if not all places for rent, are for at least a year. So if they're staying for less than that, either bite the bullet and rent it for a year or go for hotels.


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## cylshain (Mar 15, 2012)

*Housing*

Hi, my name is Christina. My husband and I have lived and worked in Hong Kong for many years. Right now, we are living in U.S. We have been back here for 12 years from Hong Kong already. However, we are moving back there in April this year. Last year, I spent many weeks in Hong Kong, looking for an apartment there. For HK$30,000, usually you can't rent a single family home in or near the city in Kowloon, or on the Hong Kong Island. However, if you go to the country side such as Tai Wai, or Tai Po, Yuen Long and so on in the New Territories, you may be able to get a single family house within your price range.

In those areas, the housing are quite good in quality, and in transportation. Shopping malls and other basic facilities are also very good. However, they are not right in the city, or near the city. Nevertheless, Hong Kong is not that big, so even in the countryside, it is often still withing an hour for us to go from one place to another in Hong Kong.

As with the real estate listings online, I think they are not fraudulent, but they are usually gone already the first day being listed if they are very good deals. Those good listings often remain there to attract you to contact them. However, the real estate agents in Hong Kong are usually quite efficient, and they will help you find something within your price range usually within a few days. However, if you get hold of a real estate agent, don't sign any contract with them to state that you will use him, or her exclusively. I usually will ask a couple of real estate agents to show me what I am interested in first, because if I sign anything with any of them, I cannot use any other agents from other companies, or from the same company, within certain period of time even though I find out that agent I use is not any good later, I cannot change agent. Actually, some people may still change the agent secretly, but if the agent finds out, they may still have to pay this agent commission. Therefore, don't sign anything, just ask them to show you something first.

By the way, when you move, which shipping company or international mover did you use? We are desperately looking for a reasonably reliable one. Thanks.

Christina



lucane said:


> 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).
> 
> ...


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

cylshain said:


> Hi, my name is Christina. My husband and I have lived and worked in Hong Kong for many years. Right now, we are living in U.S. We have been back here for 12 years from Hong Kong already. However, we are moving back there in Mid - April this year.
> 
> By the way, can anyone recommend some good shipping companies, or international movers to us? We are desperately looking for a reliable one. Thanks.
> 
> Christina


try scheckner removals, but stay ontop of every stage of the paperwork. great at door to door, but glitch in paperwork cost us weeks in a rental and a big tax bill. Sadly my fault, as worked in shipping and should have spotted the error. Otherwise it was smooth and only one minor breakage( Glass on a picture frame...cost less than 5 euros to fix)


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## JWilliamson (May 31, 2010)

Sai Kung is nice but it aint really being in Hong Kong and it is far away.


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