Hong Kong home rents hit record high on strong Chinese demand

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong residential rents hit a record high as demand from new arrivals to the city offsets a wider real estate downturn.

The rental price index rose slightly in September from a month earlier, to the highest since records began in 1993, and held that level in October, government data showed on Wednesday (Nov 26). The growth comes amid a sustained influx of mainland Chinese immigrants on new visa programmes to Hong Kong in recent years.

The newly adjusted index value for September, released on Wednesday, surpassed the previous record set in August 2019.

Analysts now expect an improvement in rental returns as lower borrowing costs help to boost investment demand in homes, lifting the lacklustre sales market.

The rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in September has “improved mortgage affordability and boosted buyer confidence”, said Hannah Jeong, head of valuation & advisory services at CBRE Group in Hong Kong. “Now with good yields due to rental increase generated from the residential sector, it can attract both investment and end-user demand.”

The arrival of Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong has increased demand for rental housing. The government has approved about 350,000 applicants for work visa programmes aimed at attracting skilled labour to the financial hub in recent years. More than 230,000 have arrived in the city, according to the government.

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Hong Kong’s official rental index has been increasing for almost a year and is now 0.05 per cent higher than the previous record set in the summer of 2019.

Hong Kong’s home prices have been struggling to recover after a four-year downturn. Values remain around 25 per cent lower then the peak in 2021, data from Centaline show. BLOOMBERG