Hong Kong retained its rank as the most expensive location for expatriate rents for the third consecutive year, in a report by global researcher ECA International, but a sharp drop is underway for 2020 due to social unrest.
At $11,318 – a 3.45 percent uptick – Hong Kong’s average expat rent topped global rankings in 2019. This was based on an «unfurnished, mid-market, three-bedroom apartment in areas commonly inhabited by international executives».
Within Asia, Tokyo (average monthly rent of $9,207) was ranked the second-most expensive expat city followed by Shanghai ($5,363), Yokohama ($5,090) and Seoul ($4,931). After five consecutive years of falling expat rents, Singapore posted a 1.4 percent increase and ranked ninth in the region and 25th globally.
The report is based on rental costs in areas typically inhabited by expatriate staff in over 360 locations worldwide.
Anti-Government Protests
«Hong Kong has the most expensive rents due to a number of factors such as the high population density of the territory and limited opportunities to build new homes, which combine to drive rental costs upwards,» said Lee Quane, regional director for Asia at ECA International.
«However, in light of the prolonged anti-government protests and coronavirus outbreak currently underway, we expect to see rents fall throughout 2020 as the number of overseas workers in Hong Kong drops significantly.»
In fact, the report even highlighted expat migration from Hong Kong to Singapore due to «relative stability»
