|
|
The economic gateway to China – Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations in the world, with a lively property market. With the increased awareness of property enhancement, improvement in market laws, and innovative requirements of people, property management now finds a prominent position in the Hong Kong property market.
Managing property in Hong Kong is a burgeoning industry, and is considered a core segment of facility management services. In other words, managing property is one of the prominent service industries in the city. Management of property in Hong Kong is simply the managing of property as well as providing services in connection with the property management, to owners, tenants, and other required people.
The prime goal of managing property is to maintain the value of a property by creating and preserving a comfortable as well as well-ordered living, working, and shopping. Managing property is sometimes confused with tenancy management, which is primarily the enforcement of the Housing Ordinance, tenancy agreements, and implementation of housing rules and regulations.
A large number of firms in Hong Kong, ranging from small business units and governmental departments to large business corporations, are now benefited from managing property. Property management is categorized into: management of residential property and management of commercial property. Managing residential property in Hong Kong includes managing residential spaces, from small houses to premium as well as luxury residential units.
Services offered in connection with managing residential property include:
- Concierge services
- Renovation and repair services
- Provision of management
- Maintenance Services
In commercial management of property, the services are mostly offered for large commercial areas, with more than seven million sq ft. Among the services offered in connection with this type of managing of property is:
- Maintenance of common areas and facilities
- Installation of drainage system
- Operation as well as coordination of plant and equipments
- Operation and maintenance of electrical and mechanical systems
- Services with regard to the maintenance of fire system
- Plumbing services
- Repair service
- Routine maintenance
In some instances, services in connection with management of commercial property are inclusive of
- Provision of effective security system
- Cleaning services
- Environmental and landscape services
- Hygiene and safety management
Apart from these, there are service providers offering excellent services for office and industrial sectors. Above all, some kind of service providers renders simple tenancy management services, aside from management of property.
The services in this category usually cover providing info on housing policies and procedures to required people, dealing with standard forms and notification letters, assisting people in filling tenancy related forms and applications, and arranging meeting for tenancy related purposes. Let it be any type of property management, the services also include quality maintenance of plumbing system, thereby ensuring the people of Hong Kong with a stable as well as reliable water supply system.
Managing property offers a host of benefits. One of the prime benefits is that it ensures meticulous care and maintenance of your residential as well as commercial places. Professional as well as personal assistance and useful advice on property maintenance are the other benefits of managing property in Hong Kong.
One of the most significant executants of property management in the city is Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) – a statutory body responsible for the implementation of majority of public housing programs in Hong Kong, which include rental housing system, housing for elderly people, and subsidized home ownership.
As one of the major housing developers in the property market, Hong Kong Housing Authority has introduced an innovative system ensuring excellence in the sector of public housing property management system. Recently, HA undertook a special management system, exclusively for managing property and tenancy system in Hong Kong, known as Public Rental Housing (PRH.) Under this system, HA contracts some of its property management services to property services companies, which in turn discharge a range of duties in connection with property management, like cleaning and maintenance services, repair services, and rent collection.
Apart from HA, executants of managing of property in Hong Kong also consist of a variety of private property management firms, foreign-based service providers, and participatory management organizations. HA has now organized an award for private firms that excel in services in connection with management of property, namely, Best Property Management Award. A specialty of service providers in Hong Kong is that majority of them have excellent knowledge and expertise on the mainland market. This in turn assures quality as well as reliable services to the people of Hong Kong.
2007 represents a unique year for the Hong Kong economy. The year witnessed a proportional increase in growth as the year moved forward. The major reason behind the economic reversal is the domestic demand as private consumption and investment expenditure continued to increase.
In 2007 overseas investors consisting of recent entrants showed faith in the Hong Kong market. China’s economic influence on Hong Kong remained to flourish even after being a republic for a decade. The influence was felt over the complete financial spectrum of Hong Kong.
The overwhelming presence of RMB in Hong Kong due to the Territory’s overdependance on dollar improves the purchasing strength of Chinese visitors to Hong Kong whenever the value of dollar goes down. The enhanced value of the RMB has influenced the wealthy mainland investors to attain luxury residential properties as reliable long-term assets. High premium Grade A office rents in Central has improved investment in office and property sections.
In addition to this the Government’s strong decision on land values, decrease in stamp duty, and reduction in the aggregate of resident owners having negative equity are all reasons behind the renewed interest in the luxury and mass residential sectors. The way different sectors in the market responded in 2007 is reviewed below.
Investment Market :
In 2007 it was calculated that a total of 330 property investment deals priced over HK$100 million were handed over throughout all property sectors, resulting in an increase of 78.4% compared with 2006. The aggregate consideration in 2007 summed up to over HK$94.2 billion, a progression of about 53%. High-end luxury residential properties were in big demand for the investors and end-users. However, the relative shortage of luxury housing stock in the market gave little choice to the purchasers.
Office Market :
The office market had a very good year in 2007. Grade A office rents and sales prices had notable rise of 31.7% and 46.6% respectively over the duration of the year. However vacancy rates in important centers showed no improvement sliding down from 3.8% at the end of 2006 to 2.9% in 2007. Esteemed office space in Central remained in high demand, as underlined by the fact that prestigious grade office buildings were completely leased until the end of 2007. The lack of co-ordination between supply and demand has allowed the landlords in the premises of the core CBD to make good use of the surge in activity.
Retail Market :
After a relatively consistent show in 2006, the retail property market recovered and showed a progressive growth from the second quarter of 2007 as a result of the neck and neck competition between an increasing number of global luxury brands. Rents and capital values recorded improvements. It was increased by 16% y-o-y and 33.8% y-o-y respectively in 2007. The possible threats from brand new tourist spots in Macau was given top priority by the retail market in 2007. However Hong Kong still remains a favourite shopping paradise.
Luxury Residential Market :
Rents and costs for luxury residential properties on Hong Kong Island advanced by 14.1% and 37.9% y-o-y in 2007. The land sale results attained in the six public land auctions took place in the 2007/2008 financial year were refreshing. Distribution of new luxury residential areas decreased in all four traditional luxury residential areas of Hong King, which has been the trend since 2005.
Mass Residential Market :
The mass residential market got two much needed backups in 2007. They are stamp duty reduction for properties handed over for a price below HK$2 million and the interest rate concession by the Hong Kong local bank. The mass residential market in 2007 recorded the most dominant display over the past few years as shown by a surge of 49.8% y-on-y which is indicated by the total residential transaction volume reaching 123,575 units.
When we look into the future the strengthening of capital values seen in 2007 as a result of comparitively short supply of quality property stock will remain throughout the next year. Oppurtunities are expected to increase in the Hong Kong market over the next few years. Thus the Hong Kong market can be expected to react in a positive way but at the same time in a guarded manner.
Hong Kong is one of the most vibrant destinations in the world, and each of its districts has its own distinctive atmosphere, character, and style. Akin to world’s any cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong renders all that is required to make your stay here a great experience.
In deed, Hong Kong offers its residents an exciting, dynamic, and multi-ethnic lifestyle. However, acquiring a property or real estate in Hong Kong is not quite easy, since many of them have record prices.
Property market in Hong Kong has been categorized into residential market, commercial market, and industrial market.
Residential Market :
Residential real estate in Hong Kong is regarded as the most lucrative as well as the priciest in the world. Depending upon the requirements of investors, a variety of residential property choices are available in Hong Kong, such as, apartments, penthouses, single detached homes, villas, and flats. There are also special types of residential properties, especially designed for senior citizens, such as Housing for Senior Citizens and self-contained flats built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority.
People invest in residential real estate for a number of significant reasons. Mostly, people invest in residential properties in order to rent it out. According to records, a residential property in Hong Kong can fetch you a minimum of at least HK$ 100,000 per year. However, a residential property can get you profits only if your property is located in the city’s posh areas with easy accessibility to almost all facilities and attractions in the area. If a residential property is acquired to sell it after some times, then go for a property located in such areas that have strong potential for growth.
A great benefit of investing in residential real estate it serves as an excellent long term investments, yielding handsome profits. Since Hong Kong’s property value is constantly increasing, you can sell it at a price 20-50% higher than the amount for which you purchased. Likewise, investing in residential property is a great way to earn safe income by renting out.
Commercial Real Estate :
Due to its excellent legal as well as banking systems, many overseas business firms have made Hong Kong as their regional headquarters. This in turn has tremendously increased the demand for Hong Kong’s commercial real estate, including office spaces, shopping malls, and retail stores. In addition to overseas investors, a growing number of mainland companies are also taking up office spaces in Hong Kong.
In short, commercial real estate in Hong Kong has now turned out to be a demand-driven scenario. As a result, in recent years, the sale price of commercial property has been pushed up. Further, the rents charged on commercial real estate are exceptionally high, ranging from HK$22 to HK$105 per square foot per month.
Now we will discuss some of the most preferred location for investing in Hong Kong real estate market. The Peak, or Victoria Peak, is regarded as the most exclusive as well as the most expensive area in Hong Kong. With excellent views of the surroundings including the harbour and the outlying islands as well as easy accessibility of Central through the Peak Tram and public transport, the Peak is one of the most sought after residential areas.
Real estate found here range from up-market apartments and high-end flats to small ordinary housing structures. Due to its easy accessibility to Central and Causeway Bay, real estate in Mid-Levels region is also popular among the investors, especially expat community. Another popular area that is preferred by the expat community is Repulse Bay, which boasts of a resort-like ambience. Further, this area is within close proximity to several super markets and international schools in Hong Kong.
No matter it is for commercial or residential purposes or for your vacation needs, a host of service providers in the form of real estate firms and property developer firms are now in the scenario in order to help you find your dream property in Hong Kong. Many of these firms offer a variety of services in connection with the acquiring of a property in Hong Kong. Some of them even provide services of a professional attorney to verify the documents in order to check the authenticity of the property.
Hong Kong is in a prime position to take advantage of China’s growing economy – and they have both taken advantage and built an economy under their own steam. The latest figures make the Hong Kong property market one of the most attractive in the world. We look at why it would a be a good idea to jump on this speeding boat, before it blows out of port!
Hong Kong’s real estate and property markets are on the up and up at the moment. Official figures from the Hong Kong land registry show that both the total number of transactions, and the total number of [property transactions is increasing at a rate of knots. January’s figures showed 67.8 billion HKD in property transactions – a 149.3% increase from the same time last year, and an increase of 5.2% from the month previous. In terms of overall transactions, the land registry recorded 16,984 transactions, which is an increase of 92.8% from the same time in 2007, and a jump of 8.9% from the prior month, December 2007.
Obviously this trend has been forming in Hong Kong for a while now. And it is not only the number of transactions that are increasing in the Hong Kong property market, but the value of the property being traded is going up as well. If you are looking to directly invest in the Hong Kong property market, now is the time to start the ball rolling, while prices are relatively low and growth seems set to continue.
Tourism is another area where the country should see a sharp increase in the number of transactions. Jeff Voyles of Globalysis said that “Hong Kong faces stiff competition for tourist dollars from other Asian destinations”, and it has met the challenge wonderfully. Hong Kong expects to see around 30 million visitors in 2008, representing an increase of 7% over the previous year, and the revenue from these transactions is set to grow to around $155 billion HKD. Hotels in Hong Kong will see sustained growth this year, as will airlines, and business oriented services.
An example of the growth that is being seen in Hong Kong recently is shown by the purchase of tracts of land for development in Shatin and Mid-Levels by Henderson Land Development Co, for around $128 billion HKD. Work on the high-rise apartment blocks and several low-rise blocks should be completed by April and March 2009, for separate parts of the projects, in time to cash in on the breakneck economic growth.
Prices are at their highest level in a decade in the Hong Kong property market, and they show signs of continuing to increase – in sharp contrast to the housing market in the US. A 50% increase in prices over the next three years has been predicted by analysts Merril Lynch. They have been joined in their positivism by Sun Hung Kai properties, as well as other developers. Investors seem to be recognizing and touting that buying an apartment is more profitable than buying shares at the moment.
All this means is that savvy investors will not miss out on the golden opportunities provided by property management in Hong Kong this year!
|
|
