ON THE MARKET
Summer 2018 has proven to be the traditional “busy period” for both newcomers to Hong Kong and those relocating within the territory. The upcoming tender of the HK Government’s Mansfield Road Quarters (some 80 to 90 apartments) has seen some pressure on the rental market between $50,000 and $100,000, with an influx of outgoing tenants needing to find new homes. The rental market continues to be competitive across the board, with the higher quality, well presented properties being taken up quickly. Popular developments in the Southside such as The Manhattan and The Repulse Bay portfolios as well as some in Mid-Levels such as Dynasty Court and Queen’s Garden continue to be near to maximum occupancy, and in some cases have waiting lists.
As the summer season is also the time when new families tend to relocate to Hong Kong, the typically family-friendly developments and locations found in the Southside and MIDLEVELS have proven to be popular as always.
There is much speculation about how the new Government Vacancy Tax will affect the overall property market in HK and we have started to see some developers releasing their properties to the leasing market in order to avoid this new measure. This new stock appears to be predominantly smaller apartments for the time being, but there is some hope that this new tax could contribute to an increase in choice for potential tenants’ territory-wide in the near future.