Nearly half of Hong Kong flats rent for US$2,550 a month – 70 per cent of median household income
Monthly rents could jump 10 per cent this year, making affordable housing even scarcer
Candy Lau knew she would have to pay high rent for her new walk-up studio in Hong Kong. But she was not expecting roommates – a bunch of cockroaches.
“I came to realise that the housing market is expensive and I cannot be that demanding,” said Lau, a 28-year-old account executive. “I had to be flexible with my criteria and budget.”
Lau felt she needed to lower her expectations after a two-month flat hunt in Hong Kong, where nearly 44 per cent of rentals now cost more than HK$20,000 (US$2,550) a month, according to a new report by Midland Realty.
In comparison, the median income for the first quarter this year for a household in the city is HK$28,100, and HK$16,400 for an individual. So nearly half of flats are renting for 70 per cent of the city’s average monthly household income, or 122 per cent of the average individual’s salary.
Cockroaches just felt like part of the deal to Lau, who got off comparatively easily by paying about one-third of her salary – HK$9,000 a month – for her unfurnished 250 sq ft studio, which is on the fourth floor of an old building in North Point.