City Beat | When even Hong Kong’s super wealthy opt to rent, something is not right

Julian Cheung Chi-lam and Anita Yuen Wing-yi are household names in Hong Kong and on the mainland for the many impressive roles they have played in films and TV dramas, and also because they are seen as a happily married, model couple in showbiz circles.

But there’s one thing about this rich and famous couple that you might not know, something I was not aware of until last week: they decided years ago never to buy property in Hong Kong. The reason was simple. Prices were outrageously high and too unreasonable.

At a Mid-Autumn Festival gathering, as some of my friends were sharing viral online messages, one showed us a story from a mainland website prompted by the couple’s recent appearance on a reality show for a local TV station.

“Do you know Cheung and Yuen have a strange habit?” the headline asked. The story went on to explain the “strange habit”: their constant house moving by renting luxury apartments one after another every few years instead of buying a permanent home. Cheung once reportedly remarked: “With the amount I need to pay for a house [in Hong Kong], I can rent till I’m over 130 years old.”