Hong Kong records the most expensive high-end residential rental rates in the world

An annual study reported that despite having a 1 percent year-on-year drop in 2013, high-end residential rates in Hong Kong remain the most expensive in the world. According to the latest expatriate housing survey conducted by consultancy ECA International, a three-bedroom apartment located in Hong Kong’s prime areas, such as The Peak, Discovery Bay and Sha Tin, costs an average of USD11,440 per month, double the current rental rate in Singapore, which was ranked third in Asia and seventh worldwide. Singapore—named the world’s priciest city by a recent Economist Intelligence Unit study—registered an average monthly rate of USD5,630 for a three-bedroom condominium unit, ranking one spot higher than last year’s survey. Other Asian cities on the list include Tokyo and Shanghai at sixth and ninth places, respectively. Seoul sits outside the top ten at thirteenth place. Lee Quane, regional director for ECA Asia, told the South China Morning Post that the gap between the steep rents in the top two Asian cities is narrowing, while the high cost has had minimal effect on the cities’ market performance. Expats in Hong Kong are now most likely to lease apartments in less expensive areas like Tsim Sha Tsui, Quane told the publication. He also said that the 1 percent drop in Hong Kong rates “was in part a reaction to a series of government measures to cool the property market.” The latest ECA report also cited that the average monthly rental rate for an upscale, three-bedroom apartment in Asia is USD600 higher than the global average of USD3,000 per month. But although rental rates across Asia are among the most expensive in the world, they actually decreased by an average of 1 percent last year, compared with an estimated 2 percent average increase in most international markets. “While most locations in the region have seen rent increases in home currency terms, the pattern of increases is not as consistent when rents are converted into US dollars for comparison,” the report noted. Meanwhile, the city with the largest rental price change in the past year was recorded in Caracas, Venezuela, representing nearly a 50 percent increase, followed by Dubai, Sao Paulo, Nairobi, and Jakarta.   HK Tsim Sha Tsui by WiNG was used under a Creative Commons licence.