As a husband of a friend once succinctly put it, ‘if you don’t want to live in an apartment, don’t come to Hong Kong.’ Another fact impossible to ignore is that housing in Hong Kong is very expensive – a problem if you are paying for it yourself. Employees being relocated to Hong Kong by their companies may be offered a company flat or, more commonly these days, given a budget with which to find their own accommodation. Most high-end apartment blocks have their own estate management office equipped with English-speaking staff to whom you can report problems with the property.

At the other end of the scale, you may be paying for your flat yourself and renting from a landlord who cannot speak English. In this case, make full use of the property agent who introduced the apartment to you and get them to act as a middleman, relaying information from you to the landlord and vice versa. It’s worth bearing in mind how helpful the property agent is likely to be in the future, after you’ve already signed on the dotted line.

FINDING A HOME

Depending on your budget, the size of your family and the area you wish to live in, Hong Kong can offer a variety of accommodation options. Expect to spend a few weeks looking at apartments before you find the one appropriate for your needs. Apartments are measured in square feet: one square metre equals 10.762 square feet. Any space less than 450 square feet is going to be very small, even for one person; that said, the longer you spend in Hong Kong, the more comfortable small spaces become.

Price is affected by many factors including size, location and age of the building. Generally, the higher you are in an apartment block, the better the view, so high-floor apartments command a premium. Apartments with a sea view (listed as ‘S/V’) command higher prices than those with a mountain view (‘M/V’), which in turn is preferable to rooms without a view. Distance from the centre of town is also a factor. Many locals shun residential areas more than an hour from downtown. Most also prefer the security of living in populous areas and are reluctant to live in quiet rural neighbourhoods. Anything over fifteen years old is considered ‘old’ in Hong Kong and therefore less desirable, so the landlord may be more amenable to negotiation.

It’s quite common to move apartments during your stay in Hong Kong, either because of a change of workplace, change in economic situation or to take advantage of fluctuations in property market prices. It is acceptable to renegotiate the rent when your tenancy agreement comes up for renewal, especially if the market has dropped. In my five and a half years in Hong Kong, I moved five times, shared flats three times and lived in four completely different neighbourhoods. I have always experienced harmonious relationships with my landlords, all of whom were local, individual owners. However, some friends have experienced problems trying to recover their deposit at the end of their lease or getting their landlord to make repairs, and have even received threatening letters directed at their landlord from Triads. These are the vagaries of renting outside the corporate landlord zone. Recent changes to the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance may also leave tenants less secure when seeking renewal.

The most important factors affecting choice of accommodation are:

• proximity to work and schools;
• access to transport;
• neighbourhood amenities, such as doctors, hospitals, supermarkets and fitness centres; and
• nightlife (if important) – clubs and bars.

POPULAR NEIGHBOURHOODS

Below are the main neighbourhoods favoured by expats who are renting, although the connectedness of Hong Kong means that you can live in virtually any area of the city without too much difficulty. To view images of each area, examples of property available and tables indicating price ranges (‘How far your money will go’), browse Compass Real Estate’s website at www.hongkongpropertyman.com. The website www.hongkonghomes.com lists buildings by areas, sorted into high- and low-rise, and displays images of specific buildings.

The areas discussed below can be found on the Hong Kong Island map (see the colour plate section).

Hong Kong Island – north side

The Peak

The Peak is the most expensive location on Hong Kong Island, with rents often over $100,000 per month. Apartments occupied by expats are inevitably corporate-sponsored.

Soho

Soho is a lively, mixed area and is home to antique shops, art galleries, designer offices, street markets, clothes shops and flower shops. It’s popular with expats and locals who are part of the club or gay scene and is sprinkled with bars, clubs and restaurants of all kinds. The downside is all the steps and steep hills, and the lack of supermarkets in the neighbourhood: ParknShop branches are located at Caine Road, Queen’s Road, Gage Street and on the Mid-Levels escalator just below Robinson Road.

Sheung Wan

Sheung Wan, at the Western end of Hollywood Road, has several blocks with lower-priced units (typically $4,000–9,000) owned by the Tung Wah group (www.tungwah.org.hk).

Mid-Levels

Mid-Levels is more grown-up and upper-middle class. It encompasses the upper reaches of the mid-level escalator, an 800 metre long escalator that runs downhill before 10:30 in the morning and uphill for the rest of the day, including Caine Road, Robinson Road, Seymour Road down to the University of Hong Kong and Pokfulam. Apartments in this area tend to be expensive and tightly packed, and a good view is worth its weight in gold. A steady procession of minibuses and double-deckers wind their way along the roads to Central and the rest of Hong Kong, and the area is often congested, making walking and jogging unpleasant. Despite this, the area remains popular and desirable with expats and affluent locals who send their children to prestigious local schools in the area. May Road and Old Peak Road appeal to the higher end of the market who want to be close to Central.

Running eastwards above Hong Kong Park, Admiralty and Wanchai, Macdonnell Road and Kennedy Road are also desirable locations and very pleasant. Macdonnell Road is well situated for sports activities: it is close to Seasons Sports Club in Citibank Tower and the YWCA, both of which have pools, and not far from squash courts and a ParknShop on Garden Road.

Pokfulam

Pokfulam is situated high up in west Mid-Levels and is generally regarded as a place where you can get more for your money. Well served by minibuses, it’s particularly popular with British expats prepared to do without club facilities and unperturbed by the graveyards in the area. In return, older properties can provide spacious accommodation, green surroundings and great sea views. Schools in the neighbourhood include Kennedy (primary), Kellet and West Island schools.

Happy Valley

Set back from Causeway Bay and much quieter, Happy Valley is leafy and affluent, with girls’ schools, churches and the excellent private Sanitorium Hospital nearby. The race course can cause delays getting in and out of the neighbourhood on Wednesday nights and Saturdays, but the course also provides a pleasant green space for walking, jogging and watching the various amateur and schools sports activities going on. There’s a Wellcome, ParknShop and Pacific Coffee, a few upscale restaurants, and plenty of moderately priced Cantonese restaurants, beauty shops, flower shops and boutiques. The Hong Kong Football Club and Craigengower Cricket Club are nearby.

A range of older and newer properties are available, but apartments tend to be expensive, cramped and viewless. Those that are better value (more space for your buck) are in ‘Chinese buildings’ not served by lifts and have little security. Expect to pay around $7,500 for about 450 square feet. In many buildings in Hong Kong, especially older Chinese buildings, what would be called the ground floor in the UK is counted as the first floor.

Jardine’s Lookout

Jardine’s Lookout, above Happy Valley, is green and quiet, and home to some older, larger ex-civil service apartments. These can be good value as they are leased below market rates. These apartments are leased through selected agents, usually for one or two years. The French International School is nearby.

Taikoo Shing

Taikoo Shing and Braemar Hill are popular with Japanese and Korean families – international schools for both nationalities are close by – and expats working in Quarry Bay’s Taikoo Place. Shopping centre Cityplaza hosts a cinema complex, ice rink, restaurants, supermarkets and department stores, including Japanese stores Jusco and Uny. Fitness centres are located nearby and hiking opportunities include the Quarry Bay to Violet Hill route.

Hong Kong Island – south side

Shouson Hill

Shouson Hill Road is located above Deep Water Bay and is, with Repulse Bay and the Peak, one of the most prestigious areas to live in Hong Kong. Properties are low-rise and older style. Minibuses run along Shouson Hill Road into town.

Repulse Bay to Stanley

This stretch of the Hong Kong coastline is idyllic and preferred by expats who enjoy accommodation paid for as part of their employment packages or who have families. Residents can enjoy upscale apartment complexes equipped with leisure facilities, supermarkets, car parks and free shuttle buses into Central. Getting into town usually takes about 40 minutes by car on a good run, but traffic in the Aberdeen Tunnel can cause delays. Buses and minibuses run regularly into town.

Repulse Bay is popular with Americans because the Hong Kong International School is close by. Luxury high-rise developments Parkview and Red Hills are located at the edge of Tai Tam Country Park, so there are opportunities for hiking and barbecues right on your doorstep.

Stanley is a bit cheaper and provides a greater range of apartment styles. The town is equipped with a large shopping centre, waterfront Western-style restaurants and cafes, the eponymous market – which gets packed with tourists and locals at the weekends – beaches, schools and St Stephen’s, a church popular with expats. Near to Stanley are Tai Tam and Chung Hom Kok, luxury low-rise properties.

South Horizons, Ap Lei Chau

South Horizons is a middle-class development that offers features such as:

• 24-hour security;
• residents’ club facilities such as swimming pools, nurseries and children’s classes;
• a shopping complex housing a ParknShop superstore; and
• convenient bus links into town.

Apartments are a reasonable size for the money and many have an ocean view. The nearby Horizons Plaza offers mixed shopping including discounted fashion outlet Joyce Warehouse, furniture and interior design shops, wine merchants, toy shops, etc.

Kowloon

TST

TST is in the touristy, commercial heart of Kowloon, and is like a wilder version of Causeway Bay. Merchants touting copy watches, street-side tailors and leather merchants add to the hustling atmosphere, while the unsavoury and decrepit Chungking Mansions and Mirador Mansions act as hostelries to people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. TST is handy for those who work there or in Central and there are numerous serviced apartments in the area.

Kowloon Tong

Kowloon Tong is close to City University and Hong Kong Baptist University and is an upscale area of Hong Kong served by Festival Walk, a plush shopping centre. It’s rather mixed, with health clubs, international schools and kindergartens, wedding photos studios, old people’s homes and love hotels side by side. It’s also the linking station between the MTR and KCR – the East Rail link to China. It’s about half an hour from Kowloon Tong into Central by MTR and 20 minutes to TST by bus.

New Territories

Clearwater Bay

Clearwater Bay is an area of outstanding natural beauty, with dramatic mountain scenery and clean beaches (by Hong Kong standards). The University of Science and Technology, Clearwater Bay School (primary), King George V (secondary) and the exclusive Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club are located here. The area is secluded and quiet (except for the dogs – the most common form of security in the rural areas of Hong Kong), with very few restaurants or shops. Houses are mainly low-rise, and vary in price from very affordable ($5,500) to expensive.

All ‘village houses’ conform to strict specifications in terms of size and layout. Usually, there are three floors plus a roof area and the space per floor is around 700 square feet, including a kitchen, bathroom, living room and two bedrooms. If you rent the ground floor flat, you will have use of the garden; if you rent the top floor flat, you will usually enjoy the use of the roof terrace. Ideally, the roof area will be at least partly covered to offer protection during the hot summer months.

An efficient minibus service operates between Clearwater Bay and Tseung Kwan O MTR station until about 1:00 am. Another bus runs to Kwun Tong MTR and ferry.

Sai Kung

Prices are slightly lower in nearby Sai Kung, which is popular with expat families who want to be part of a community and like the green, island feel. Sai Kung is a medium-sized fishing town, equipped with kindergartens, ParknShop and Wellcome supermarkets, Western and Chinese restaurants, bakeries, pet product shops, second-hand bookshops, and so on. Buses run from Sai Kung to Hang Hau and Choi Hung MTR stations, as well as other parts of Kowloon. The town gets busy at weekends and on public holidays when people from all over Hong Kong descend on the famous waterfront seafood restaurants.

Taipo and Shatin

Both new towns are well placed for access to the Chinese mainland via the KCR East Rail link. The Chinese University and Lingnan College are also in this area. Luxury developments such as Shatin Heights enjoy more space than their equivalents downtown and rents can be up to 40% less. Village house accommodation, often preferred by expats, is another reasonably inexpensive option.

Outlying Islands

Lantau

Car-free Discovery Bay is well set up for residents, with a club house, swept beach, shopping centre and expat-oriented nurseries and schools. Properties vary in price, starting at about $6,000–7,000. The place has the feel of a holiday town and you can forget you’re in Hong Kong. A very efficient ferry service links Discovery Bay with Central – a journey that takes 20 minutes – and runs throughout the night. Buses link Discovery Bay to Tung Chung and from there by MTR or bus to the rest of Hong Kong. Full details about Discovery Bay can be found at www.discoverybay.com.hk.

Mui Wo (Silvermine Bay) is also popular with expats, although government plans to build a super-jail on Hei Ling Chau Island, to be connected by bridge to Mui Wo, are being fiercely resisted by residents.

Lamma

Lamma is a smaller car-free island, but has a loyal expat following. Traditionally residents have a reputation for being alternative, artistic, eco-friendly, child-friendly and dog-keeping. Yung Shue Wan is the main town centre; other residential areas include Pak Kok, Hung Shing Ye and Sok Ku Wan. English teacher Kate Allert, a resident on the island, comments:

The social scene in Lamma is fabulous. It’s almost like living in a gigantic shared house but with more privacy. You can go out for a quiet drink and never be sure how the evening will turn out. Everyone has to come up the Main Street to get home, so you see everybody all the time.

Ferries to Central run between 6:20 am and 12:30 am, which is when the last ferry returns to Yung Shue Wan. And if you get stranded on the mainland late at night, you can always get back from Aberdeen Fish Market by hiring a sampan. Village houses cost $6,000–8,000 per month for a top-floor flat with roof, less for a middle floor. There are also 350 square feet units that are $2,000–3,000 per month.

Short-term holiday or weekend lets are also possible on the island – details of vacant apartments are posted in the property agents on the Main Street. The island gets busy at weekends with day-trippers. Visit the Lamma resident forums at www.lamma.com.hk to find out more about the community.