Alexis Lamb here, writing from my soon-to-be-old flat (err, apartment) in Hong Kong. Housing markets tend to be a barometer of more general market conditions, and nowhere is that more apparent than in more emerging economies. While China is more of an emerging superpower than an emerging economy, the grand fall and rise of the Hong Kong property markets are evidence of general economic strength and renewed optimism in this part of the world.
I moved into my current flat in April 2009, smack-dab in the depths of the economic dead zone. I was able to secure my 680 square-foot, high-floor, doorman building with pool and clubhouse for approximately US$1980 (HK$15,000) without the landlord putting up much of a fuss. If anything, the landlord seemed relieved that someone – anyone – was renting his flat!
Fast forward 2 years to mid-March 2011. Landlord decides to nearly double my rent to HK$25,000, or US$3,200! Before I launched into “Why you gotta break my balls”, I did some market research and found that other flats in my building on similar floors were being rented out for a similar price. Time to get a better deal.
Fortunately, a bit of digging and creativity yielded results. For some bargaining I was able to find apartments that fit my checklist. 500 square feet? Check. Doorman, luxury building? Check. Near the Robinson Road escalator stop? Check. Within my budget? What budget! Budgets are for the boring! Just kidding; check. Bigger and more tricked-out options were to be found in more farflung neighborhoods – which, in HK, means a 15-minute walk to the escalator instead of a 45-second walk to the escalator – such as Sheung Wan and NoHo (“North of Hollywood Road”).
The NoHo option was intriguing. I found a bright, airy, 800-square foot studio (asking price slightly over US$2,400) on Gage Street, right next to the Gage Street wet markets, a wholesale distributor of flash-frozen high-end meat products imported from places like New Zealand and South America, art galleries, and a cheerful spattering of unique jewelry and clothing boutiques run by local designers. The apartment was a stone’s throw from Gough (rhymes with “cough”) Street, which has surfaced as a grittier, cooler escape from the expat ghettoes of Soho and Lan Kwai Fong. To draw a comparison with the mean streets of New York, if SoHo is the Upper East Side, Gough Street is the Lower East Side (for my fellow Longhorns: if SoHo is 6th Street, Gough Street is South Congress).
Flats near the Robinson Road escalator in luxury doorman buildings were also available – asking prices for a 500 to 700 square foot 2-3 bedroom were running from anywhere from US$2,300 to over $3,000 – similar to what one would expect in Columbus Circle, Hell’s Kitchen or a subway-convenient location on the Upper East Side. They were boring and a bit small, but clean and practical. Nothing that a burgundy accent wall and some creative lighting and space management won’t fix!
And then I fell in love. You remember that movie where some teenaged heiress hooked up with a bum on a cruise and it all went belly-up in the end? It won multiple Oscars in the late ‘90s. High school brats and their best gay male friends were lining up around the block to see it for the 4th time (or maybe that was just my prom date and I), so I’m sure you’ve heard of it. This was fortunately not that brand of obscenely impractical falling-in-love, but the difference was in degree and not in kind.
Yep, I fell in love with a walkup (yes, a walkup) on Bonham Road. With a rainforest shower head and natural stone bathroom walls. Big kitchen. All sorts of tricked-out modern lighting. Supermarket downstairs. Pet supplies store across the street. Cute cafes, dry cleaning, regular minibuses to Central. And a built in home office (i.e. the landlord left a mahogany desk and swivel chair in the spare room). 750 square feet of perfection for only US$2,000 a month. Like walking from 1st Avenue to the subway on 77th and Lex, the ex-New Yorker in me said. But it’s a 15-minute walk to the escalator, the princess in me warned.
It remains to be seen whether the Bonham Road walkup gets an enthusiastic “Jaaaaa!” or a dismissive “Ich don’t think so”. The Robinson Road flats may be the real estate equivalent of that dull private equity guy who bored you to tears over sushi and lemongrass saketinis a few weekends ago; the one your parents will approve of, but who will look at you askance if more than a couple glasses of Torrontes accidentally find their way down your gullet at brunch, and will dump you for a local girl if you start talking too loud or dancing too enthusiastically to campy 80s Britpop. But, with apologies to James Cameron, the dull private equity guy has plenty of advantages over Jack Dawson.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Unfortunately, not all is well in Asia. It seems crass to celebrate Asia’s economic recovery while our neighbors to the north in Japan are pulling themselves out of the worst quake to hit the archipelago in the history of recorded earthquakes. Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia were fortunately unaffected by seismic activity, and while I thank everyone who checked in for their concerns, my thoughts are very much with those in Japan at the moment.
For those of you who wish to donate money, time or in-kind gifts to the Japan tsunami/quake relief efforts, here are a few links that will help you (and helped me) find charities. This list is by no means exhaustive or reflective of which organizations I or Kinney thinks are the “best” – this is just the product of some quick online research that I did for myself which may help you:
GlobalGiving. GlobalGiving is working with International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and other organizations on the ground to provide relief and emergency services to quake/tsunami victims.
American Red Cross Japan Quake and Tsunami Relief
All Hands Volunteers. Are taking volunteers to head to Japan shortly for those who want to sign up via email. Also have a separate Japan Tsunami Response Fund.
Time Magazine Article, “How You Can Help the Earthquake and Tsunami Victims in Japan”
Charity Navigator: another comprehensive list of charities as well as giving tips to people who would like to donate.
