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Landlords in New Territories are big winners amid Hong Kong’s property market gloom

  • Landlords in New Territories are probably the happiest lot as demand lifts rents to multi-year highs, a bright spot amid an otherwise gloomy property market

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Rents at Novo Land in Tuen Mun have increased amid demand from students. Photo: Edmond So
An influx of students and working professionals is underpinning demand for housing in New Territories, lifting rents to the highest level in almost six years. That has made landlords in the area the big winners amid cracks in Hong Kong’s property market.
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A 235 sq ft studio flat at Novo Land in Tuen Mun, was leased at HK$12,200 (US$1,565), which translates to HK$51.9 per square foot, setting a new high for rents in the estate.

The rent is on par with some projects on Hong Kong Island. For example, a 236 studio sq ft flat at The Holborn in Sai Wan Ho, is currently leasing for HK$14,000 per month, or HK$59 per square foot, according to data available on Midland Realty website.

On a per square foot basis, the rental yield is higher than units at Residence Bel-Air, a luxury housing estate in the Southern district of Hong Kong Island. A 1,340 sq ft seaview unit in phase six of Bel-Air was leased for HK$65,000 per month, or HK$48.5 per square foot, according to a Midland agent.

“The rental market in that area [New Territories] is relatively more active,” said Buggle Lau Ka-fai, chief analyst at Midland Realty. Small to medium-sized flats priced around HK$20,000 per month are very popular and New Territories tends to offer more options than Hong Kong Island, he added.

As the rental market sizzles, homeowners are fretting. The property market has been weighed down by borrowing costs at a 23-year high and official efforts to revive home sales, including the removal of decade-old curbs in February, have delivered only a brief recovery.
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