Hong Kong property: landlords enjoy market rebound as students return, with city rents climbing to 15-month high
- Rents in private housing market climbed for a fourth straight month in May to the highest level in 15 months, according to a Centaline index
- ‘The peak season is expected to arrive early’ as students, professionals have begun to pre-rent, agency observes
Rents increased 1.4 per cent in May to 112.78 from a month earlier, according to the Centa-City Rental Index compiled by Centaline Property, which tracks 138 housing estates across the city. The rise was the most since a 1.94 per cent jump recorded in August 2018.
“Recently, students and [working] professionals have begun to pre-rent units, boosting rental transactions,” said Yeung Ming Yee, senior associate director at Centaline Property Research. “The peak season is expected to arrive early.”
The revival is injecting optimism among industry analysts, who predict the upturn will be sustained as Hong Kong welcomes back tourists and competition from mainland students drives up prices on long-term leases. Before the latest recovery, rents had slumped 8.2 per cent between the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020 and the reopening in February 2023.
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Centaline expects rents to increase steadily through the end of the year. As the summer vacation approaches, Centaline said the short-term rental market is set to enter a seasonal boom. The firm’s index could climb by another 2.9 per cent to 116 in the third quarter, a level not seen since October 2021.
“With the government’s measures to attract top talent, overseas high income talent is expected to return or come to Hong Kong gradually,” said Martin Wong, director and head of research and consultancy for Greater China at Knight Frank. “We expect overall home rents to grow by 2 to 3 per cent this year.”
