🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR · Tier A

Moving to Hong Kong

Hong Kong's rental market is fast, dense and unusually honest about being expensive. The one number that matters is saleable area: a flat marketed at 500 square feet gross can be under 400 square feet of actual floor. Once you learn to read that, the rest is a normal, quick market where good units go in days.

Get matched in Hong Kong What it costs

City tier: Tier A; major hubs
Full home search: $899; Starter, flat fee
Search + setup: $1,900; Premium, flat fee
Check one listing: $49; Verify, per visit

Where to live

Neighbourhoods in Hong Kong

Your Insidoor walks these before they shortlist anything, and will tell you which one actually fits how you live.

Sai Ying Pun & Kennedy Town

Young professionals

On the island line, walkable to Central, newer buildings, better value than Mid-Levels.

Mid-Levels

Professionals, families

The classic expatriate address, served by the escalator. You pay for the altitude and the schools.

Sheung Wan & Sai Wan

Couples

Central without Central prices. Small flats, good walking, old buildings.

Discovery Bay & Tung Chung

Families

Genuine space and greenery, at the cost of a ferry or a longer commute.

What it costs to rent

Indicative rents

Monthly, unfurnished or lightly furnished, excluding management fees and government rates.

One-bed, Mid-LevelsHK$22,000 – HK$32,000

One-bed, Sai Ying PunHK$16,000 – HK$24,000

Room in a shareHK$7,000 – HK$12,000

Indicative only, last checked 2 September 2026. Rents move; your Insidoor confirms what the market is actually doing before you commit to anything.

What catches people out

The Hong Kong traps

Every market has its own way of costing newcomers money. These are the ones worth knowing before you start.

Gross area versus saleable area

Gross area includes a share of lifts, lobbies and corridors. Saleable area is what you live in. Always ask for the saleable figure and compare on that.

Unlicensed agents

Agents are licensed by the Estate Agents Authority and the register is public. Agency commission is typically half a month's rent from each side.

Two months' deposit plus one in advance

Three months of cash at signing is normal, not a negotiating position. Have it liquid before you start looking.

After the keys

The admin that follows a move

On Premium, your Insidoor does this with you rather than sending you a checklist. Timing in Hong Kong: Two to three weeks. Viewings are short and decisions are quick.

Hong Kong ID card

Required if you are staying more than 180 days, and you must apply within 30 days of arrival.

Stamp the tenancy

Stamping with the Inland Revenue Department within 30 days makes the agreement enforceable. The cost is normally split.

Electricity

CLP on Kowloon and the New Territories, HK Electric on Hong Kong Island and Lamma. You do not get to choose — geography does.

Check the building's age and lifts

Walk-ups are common and cheaper for an obvious reason. On a hot day in August, six floors is a real decision.

Language. English and Cantonese are both official. Leases are commonly bilingual. Your Insidoor works with you in English and negotiates on your behalf in whatever the lease is written in.

Pricing for Hong Kong