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Hong Kong rents set to keep rising as record-breaking home prices force would-be buyers into leasing market
- As the price of owning a home soars, some prospective buyers are electing to rent while they wait for the market to cool down, according to property agents
- Rents are likely to be boosted further still by an influx of mainland Chinese students when university lectures resume next month, he said
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Rents in Hong Kong are poised to increase further as soaring house prices deter would-be buyers and push them into the rental sector, according to property analysts.
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The average price of a lived-in property hit a new high this month, according to a closely watched index. The price gauge of second-hand homes compiled by Centaline Property Agency soared to a record of 191.34 in the first week of August, surpassing the previous high from June 2019, just before Hong Kong’s street protests began to wreak havoc on the city’s economy.
As a result, some prospective buyers are electing to rent while they wait in the hopes that the market will eventually cool down.
“People may [suddenly realise] they are not able to afford to enter the market, so their only option is to rent,” said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties.
Rents are likely to be boosted further still by an increase in mainland Chinese students looking for accommodation when university lectures resume next month, he said.
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Home rents will increase 15 per cent in the whole of this year as the economy rebounds from Covid-19, and amid the expected influx of students, according to Centaline.
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