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Micro-apartments

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Micro-apartments
See how Hong Kong architects and interior designers have tackled the challenges of renovating and remodelling flats of 500 square feet or less - the typical family flat size in space-challenged Hong Kong, in other words - and learn some of their tricks.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
Potential buyers view a model of CK Asset’s #Lyos housing project during its launch in November 2021. A few buyers have forfeited their deposits for units in the project. Photo: Edmond So
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong homebuyers would forfeit deposits to await lower prices

The 308 cases in the first half have already exceeded last year’s total of 261, according to Centaline. But buyers could be chased down by developers to pay the difference in resale prices, agent warns.

Architecture and design

Bigger on the inside: how interior designers do more with less in Hong Kong

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong looks at whether 100 sq ft subdivided flats add up to decent conditions

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Hong Kong property

End of the fad? Hong Kong’s ‘nano flat’ pioneer slashes price by 32%

The flagship developer of tycoon Li Ka-shing has slashed the price of some of the remaining flats at its project in the Northern Metropolis by almost a third compared with when it was first launched in 2021.

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More than half of the 341 flats in #Lyos range in size from 202 to 292 sq ft. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Architecture and design

A full-sized tub in a Hong Kong micro flat? Design duo make it a reality

The owner of a Hong Kong micro-apartment wanted all the trappings of a bigger home – including a tub – in the first property she owned. Two young interior designers made it happen.

Britain

‘Expensive, cramped and ageing’: UK homes lag behind most of developed world

Homes in England are more cramped than those in New York City, according to new analysis that showed UK property offers the worst value for money in the developed world.

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Architecture and design

Soothing avocado green, French simplicity in this Hong Kong home’s makeover

A Hong Kong-based client’s favourite colour shade was not only on trend, it was also the perfect hue to turn her 520 sq ft Tsuen Wan flat into a relaxing sanctuary.

The high-rise apartment in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, designed by MT Design makes use of avocado as the primary colour, as seen in the faux wainscot (above) in the dining room, and in the kitchen behind. Photo: Samson Lau
Architecture and design

Shape-shifting micro-flat so innovative a museum recreated it. Not for keeps

The Domestic Transformer micro-apartment was so groundbreaking that Hong Kong’s M+ commissioned a 1:1 reproduction for all to see. But the installation now faces an uncertain future.

Hong Kong housing

Opinion | Nano flats’ heyday in Hong Kong may be ending, but more housing progress needed

With mortgage rules relaxed and more subsidised flats released, demand for small private flats has fallen, causing developers to start switching to mid-sized housing. But for all Hongkongers to be able to ‘live bigger’, the land and housing shortage must be tackled at the root.

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Architecture and design

A chic, urbane studio apartment where even the light switches are luxe

The owner of a tiny apartment in Tai Hang, Hong Kong, removed barriers to create a studio flat that is both practical and luxurious – right down to the special light sockets and door stopper.

The owner of this 470 sq ft studio apartment in Tai Hang, Hong Kong, went all out make her small space shine – even the light switches, sockets and the door stopper are luxe. Her designer’s clever storage and work-from-home solutions make it a practical space too. Photo: Monika Kulon
Architecture and design

‘A lighter, more airy place’: redesign of 397 sq ft flat adds natural light

After working at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the buyers of a cramped Hong Kong apartment made creating space and maximising daylight their priorities.

The kitchen, dining and sitting areas of Kenneth Yuen and Sabrina Jensen’s redesigned 397 sq ft apartment in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district. Photo: Michael Perini
Hong Kong property

Does falling demand herald the end of Hong Kong’s nano flats?

Divergent responses to recent property launches suggest buyers in Hong Kong have started preferring larger flats, following a relaxation of mortgage rules and as the market remains soft.

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Hong Kong interior design

From a dingy, cramped 3-bedroom flat to a light-filled, open 1-bedroom home

A 500 sq ft apartment in SoHo, on Hong Kong Island, was gutted and its interior walls removed to create a new feng-shui-aligned space that ticks all the boxes for its owners.

Henderson Land

Henderson Land’s new project nets HK$330 million on first-day sale

Henderson Land sold 51 units out of 138 on offer at The Quinn Square Mile, as young buyers unleash pent up demand by snapping up small flats.

Property buyers for The Quinn, Square Mile, from Henderson Land Development, at the sales office in Tsim Sha Tsui on May 1. Photo: SCMP/ Xiaomei Chen
Hong Kong housing

Hong Kong nano flat project failed to take off due to market woes, site limits: analysts

Authorities on Tuesday rejected all five bids for site in Tai Lam, which would have yielded an estimated 2,020 homes.

A leading developers’ association says the government’s rejection of bids for the Tuen Mun site is unrelated to Hong Kong’s minimum flat size requirement. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong nano flats sales ebb as buyers shift focus to bigger homes

The popularity of tiny homes took a beating last month after the government relaxed mortgage rules, bringing larger homes within reach of first-time buyers.

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Architecture and design

How smart design tricks gave a 420 sq ft Hong Kong flat the wow factor

A good location, ample light, and some clever design hacks with mirrors and storage have turned a first-time homeowner’s small flat into a cosy home perfect for entertaining.

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Hong Kong property

Hong Kong opens tap for more mortgage loans to first-home buyers

The policy would make larger abodes more affordable to first-time buyers, helping to remove so-called nano flats as the sole property type within their financial reach.

Potential buyers viewing an apartment model at the sales office of the #LYOS housing project at CK Asset Holding’s sales office in Hung Hom on 4 November 2021. Photo: Edmond So
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong’s nano flat supply to peak this year as curbs are put in place

The availability of micro flats is set to peak this year, after the government put a cap on the minimum size of homes late last year, say market observers.

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Hong Kong property

Analysis | Hong Kong’s blight of nano flats are likely to remain, developers say

Known variously as nano flats, micro-apartments, cage homes and shoebox homes, Hong Kong’s tiny abodes grew out of the desperate quest for affordable housing in the world’s most expensive urban centre.

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Hong Kong property

Here are the top 5 trends for Hong Kong’s housing market in 2022

Up to HK$280 billion (US$36 billion) of new homes may find buyers in 2022, marking the second year that annual transactions have risen, amid the bull run in the housing market, according to Centaline Property.

Overall view of the Cadenza luxury development in Kwu Tung by CSI Properties, on 16 November 2021. Photo Dickson Lee
Weekend Property

Homebuyers pile into #Lyos flats in CK Asset’s sell-out weekend

The successful launch at Hung Shui Kiu shows how Hong Kong’s residential property bull run has gained momentum in recent months after a brief stumble last year, as the city’s economic recovery and low interest rates bolstered sentiments.

Buyers viewing a model of the #Lyos flats in Hung Shui Kiu at CK Asset Holdings’ sales office in Hung Hom on 4 November 21. Photo: Edmond So
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong’s real estate mania inflates the costs of even the tiniest flats

The dismal state of housing underscores the challenges confronting Hong Kong’s policymakers as they grapple with ways to make housing more affordable, especially for young families, school leavers and other people struggling to get on the first rungs of the property ladder.

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Hong Kong property

Hong Kong developers join rush for small flats as home prices soar

Developers are likely to take advantage of rising prices in the city to launch small flats as affordability becomes a concern, analyst says.

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Hong Kong property

Buyers snap up small flats in rush to get on Hong Kong’s property ladder

The sell-out weekend reflects how Hong Kong’s economic recovery and falling unemployment rate are fuelling the city’s real estate market, aided by low mortgage rates and a greater confidence now that the coronavirus outbreak appears to be tapering in the city.

Buyers queuing up at the sales office of Wang On Properties in Mong Kok to bid for The Met.Azure development in Tsing Yi on August 14, 2021. As many as 13 buyers vied for each available unit. Photo: Edmond So
Hong Kong interior design

Maximising space and storage makes a micro-apartment liveable

Interior designer Wesley Liu turned a 313 sq ft microflat in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong, into a comfortable living space by improving its functionality.

Interior designer Wesley Liu helped a couple turn a tiny 313 sq ft microflat in Kennedy Town into a beautiful living space. Photography: John Butlin
Education in Hong Kong

School closures, nano flats reveal a government blind to people’s distress

In response to Covid-19, the Education Bureau is relying on a strategy of suspending in-person classes without addressing the worries of already stressed students, teachers and parents.

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Coronavirus pandemic

Letters | Architecture post-Covid-19 must focus on the needs of the many

If we continue to celebrate the high-end market instead of aspiring to build sustainably for people across the socioeconomic spectrum, we will all continue to suffer the social divide.

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