[Ed_inHK]

Hi Sleuth

I wonder if yuo can help me with some advice?

I hope you dont mind my asking you for a little advice. I am due to start up a Hong Kong office for our firm in 2008 and would really appreciate some advice.

We are an established UK-Headuquartered Search and Selection firm, with offices in London and New York. Our clients are within the Banking and Financial Services sector so we are ideally looking for a small and very cost-efficient office-space on Hong Kong island ideally within the Queensway, Central or anywahere neaer the Financial Centre of HK Island. We need just enough space for 2 -3 staff.

Secondly, I am looking for advice on a guideline of costs for rental accomodation. What should a guy be expected to pay for a 1 bedroom accomodation on Hong Kong Island? ..Is it realistic to have 1 -2 bedroom accomodation without having to flat-share.

Thirdly I am looking to advise my boss on the prioce range he should be budgeting for a medium level apratment for he and his wife..areas , location and costs

please do fee free to reply to me by email to echenuk@hotmail.com

Thanks so much

have a great Christmas!

[carang]

you need to be A LOT more specific...what do you consider a "mid-range" apartment? what is your price range? you can get 5 bedroom places (like i have) with 4 bathrooms and a garden for under $20k HKD...BUT i have to commute at least an hour and a quarter each way to central. to get the same on HK island, you'd be looking at probably close to 5X the rent.

is it realistic to have a 1-2 bed apartment without having to flatshare? again, you need to be a lot more specific. are you hoping to get away with $1k USD or $3kUSD? or more?

[Sleuth]

Yeah, what Carang said.
And you said "very small and cost efficient" and "HK Island" in the same sentence. That probably isn't possible. Might want to look across the harbor in Kowloon.
Which will change all your apartment questions.
It will be cheaper in terms of office space and apartment space if you cross the harbor to Kowloon. And many companies are doing it, having been priced out of Central HK.

[bunnypanda]

Originally Posted by Ed_inHK

1. looking for a small and very cost-efficient office-space on Hong Kong island for 2 -3 staff.

2. looking for advice on a guideline of costs for rental accomodation. What should a guy be expected to pay for a 1 bedroom accomodation on Hong Kong Island?

3. Thirdly I am looking to advise my boss on the prioce range he should be budgeting for a medium level apratment for he and his wife.

1. The rent near Central and Queensway has been raised really fast recently. Around 40 per ft for a B/C+ grade office. You can find some cheaper place (C grade) in Wanchai, around $20 per ft. As for 3-4 staff, I assume you are looking for a room about 300-400 sq. ft. which will cost you around $10,000 including overheads.

For more information, please refer to http://www.centaline-cis.com/ccom.aspx?lang=en-us

2. It really depends on your budget. If you are talking about a 500 sq. ft. single-room flat with furniture in Central (near Mid-level). It will cost you at least HK$ 15K per month now. If you look for budget choice, I 'd say Tung Chung (near airport) suits you most where is 30 minutes away from Central if you take MTR. A lot of expats and employees from airport live there. It costs you about $7.5K per month.

3. A mid-level apartment can cost you a fortune in Hong Kong. The average rent is about $30000-50000 per month. You 'd better hand over this part to experienced agents.

[KnowItAll]

Small buildings in Central can offer good value ..

http://www.geoexpat.com/classifieds/...ate/1197438444

[Skyhook]

[quote=bunnypanda;192796]
3. A mid-level apartment can cost you a fortune in Hong Kong. The average rent is about $30000-50000 per month. You 'd better hand over this part to experienced agents.[/QUOTE]

Its pretty obvious that you don't live in the mid levels area.
A friend of ours rented a freshly renovated 2 bedroom 570Ft2 4th floor apartment on Hospital road, for $12,000 per month, it's very tasteful and bright. In a beige kind of way lol.

There are plenty of places around that are still affordable, you just have to do a bit of leg work to find them.

I do find it a bit funny though, I've noticed a trend, that, those who actually pay their own living expenses, seem to be able to find bigger/nicer apartments than those who get company housing allowances. On a value for money point of view, the self funded tend to work harder at getting the best place for the money they pay.

Real estate agents love expats with housing allowances though, easy money for them..

Happy Valley also has quiet a few low floor walk up apartments that are in relatively quiet streets of around 500 odd feet square, and well within the 12 - 15K range for pleasantly renovated lodgings..

They are there, you just have to look.

[KnowItAll]

>> Real estate agents love expats with housing allowances though,
>> easy money for them..

Also, more than often the HR departments who sometimes get involved fall for the stereotype... "westerner... so he must stay in this building" type scenario and pass that advice on.

But I agree fully on the fact that those who pay from their own pockets (or value their company's money as much as they value their own...) tend to find better deals.

[lionrock88]

As a recruitment firm servicing the financial services industry, you do want to be in a relatively nicer building in the Central/Admiralty area.

You may want to explore some of the serviced offices mentioned on this board.. you should be able to get a 2-3 person office in the HKD 15,000 to 35,000 per month range. However, rents are exploding in this area and it may be in your interest to secure a long-term lease.

As a point of reference, some of the bigger names in recruitment: Robert Walters, Michael Page, etc as well as a lot of the boutique search firms have offices in Exchange Square, The Landmark, Pacific Place etc. where current rents are around HKD 75-150 p.s.f. You can also check out The Center where rents are currently around 50-60 p.s.f.

However, if you are looking for just a couple of hundred square foot of space, it might be best to stick with a serviced office. You don't have to pay to renovate and most of the Grade A buildings don't have smaller size offices (less than 800sq ft).

Originally Posted by Ed_inHK

Hi Sleuth

We are an established UK-Headuquartered Search and Selection firm, with offices in London and New York. Our clients are within the Banking and Financial Services sector so we are ideally looking for a small and very cost-efficient office-space on Hong Kong island ideally within the Queensway, Central or anywahere neaer the Financial Centre of HK Island. We need just enough space for 2 -3 staff.

please do fee free to reply to me by email to echenuk@hotmail.com

Thanks so much

have a great Christmas!

[Skyhook]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

>> Real estate agents love expats with housing allowances though,
>> easy money for them..

Also, more than often the HR departments who sometimes get involved fall for the stereotype... "westerner... so he must stay in this building" type scenario and pass that advice on.

But I agree fully on the fact that those who pay from their own pockets (or value their company's money as much as they value their own...) tend to find better deals.

Absolutely true KIA, thats exactly how it is.

As to LIONROCKs comment, ever since the office rents started to "explode", there has been a huge shift toward Inner Kowloon office space, and if that trying it on rent phenomenon continues, where next ? Singapore ?

Accountants at overseas based firms must be seriously questioning Hong Kongs viability over the past 12 month rent hikes, as a prime location to be "profitable.

I'd be pretty safe in saying that there will be an exponential net company migration out of the SAR inline with the stupidly having a go rent rises.

Why is HK ( Central ) worth more per FT2 than Ropongi in Tokyo ?
There is no logical reason for it.

[bunnypanda]

[quote=Skyhook;192805]

Originally Posted by bunnypanda

3. A mid-level apartment can cost you a fortune in Hong Kong. The average rent is about $30000-50000 per month. You 'd better hand over this part to experienced agents.[/QUOTE]

[color="DarkSlateGray"][b]Its pretty obvious that you don't live in the mid levels area.
A friend of ours rented a freshly renovated 2 bedroom 570Ft2 4th floor apartment on Hospital road, for $12,000 per month, it's very tasteful and bright. In a beige kind of way lol.

Of course, I know that it can only costs $12K-15K per month for a so-called mid-level apartment (two people).

But what I get from his post is that he need a good apartment (a bit classy) for his "boss" and wife, not for normal employee. I would say 25K at least, might be up to 45K if he want a 1200 sq ft. with modern design and not very old.