Homebuyers and investors need to have substantial sums in the bank to afford many of the apartments currently on the market. For HKD 10-12 million (USD 1.28 – 1.54 million) today’s apartment-hunters could get a new, 500 sq ft, 2-bedroom apartment in Kai Tak or Tsuen Wan, or a 700 sq ft, 3-bedroom apartment in an older building in Sai Wan Ho. The facilities at Hong Kong’s newer buildings include a clubhouse, gym and outdoor pool. The city’s older buildings will have fewer facilities but perhaps more spacious layouts and higher ceilings.

Ingrid Cheh, Associate Director, Hong Kong Research, says: “With a budget of HKD 10-12 million, you would only be able to buy a basic, mass residential unit with a maximum of two bedrooms in a fringe central location in Hong Kong. Yet this is what less than half of the households in Hong Kong can afford. With prices now at record high levels, developers are resorting to building increasingly small units to keep lump sums affordable.”

In contrast, the same budget (USD1.28 – 1.54 million) goes significantly further in some of the other big global cities – even those where luxury apartments come with sizeable price tags such as London, New York and Tokyo.

So how do the hottest property markets overseas measure up to Hong Kong’s in terms of price range, size and facilities?

London

The UK’s capital city has traditionally been a top choice for Hong Kong investors and, in recent years, mainland Chinese, who are on the look-out for overseas opportunities to diversify their property portfolios. Central London boroughs like Westminster and The City of London are the most popular, thanks to their iconic London views.

• A luxury 1-bedroom, 600 sqft apartment with a Juliette balcony in these areas will cost around £1 million (HKD 10.2 million).
• The same budget in Zone 2 will go further; £1 million (USD1.31 million) will buy a 2-bedroom apartment of around 800 sqft in a luxury high-rise. 
• Canary Wharf, now London’s major business and financial district, has many luxury property developments, wine bars, restaurants, and Canada Square Park. “A 2-bedroom, 700 sqft luxury apartment on the waterfront with a balcony at the Canary Gateway is priced at £470,000 (USD 615,000),” says Mandy Wong, Head of International Residential Property Services at JLL Hong Kong. “That’s almost half the price of Hong Kong, or put another way, investors could buy two apartments for the price of a single one in Hong Kong.”

Manchester

Manchester has transformed over the past 15 years. It’s become the North of England’s entertainment and cultural hub, with many tech companies relocating to this thriving metropolis. “Manchester apartments are of a similar size to those in London, but they are much less expensive.”

• The USD1.28 – 1.54 million budget (£ 980,000- £1.2 million) can buy a penthouse near the city center.
• Investors typically purchase flats priced between £200,000 and £400,000 (USD 262,000 - 524,000).
• Around £200,000 buys a 700-1,000 sqft flat with 2-3 bedrooms in an older building, or a 500-600 sqft, 1-bedroom flat in a newer building. 

Berlin

Berlin has also transformed attracting throngs of young working professionals, with potential for “sizable return on investment,” says JLL. It has the hallmarks of a booming property market: the new Berlin Brandenburg international airport should open in 2019 and many industries have moved in, especially the technology sector, and a flourishing entertainment and cultural scene. The Mitte, the historical heart of Berlin, is home to art galleries, museums, theatres, clubs, Humboldt University, the railway station, the Brandenburg gate, Berlin Cathedral, and The Reichstag.

• In Berlin Mitte €600,000–700,000 (USD 5.4 – 6.3 million) buys a 1,000 sqft, 3-bedroom apartment in a new luxury building, overlooking the River Spree.
• A penthouse with 3-4 bedrooms is still within budget, priced at €1.2 million (USD 11 million).
• Buyers typically invest around €400,000 (USD 3.6 million) for new apartments with concierges and 24-hour security.
• Luisenpark Berlin-Mitte is being developed as a new residential quarter between Alexanderplatz and Potsdamer Platz. Scheduled for completion in 2019, a 1,000 sqft, 4-bedroom apartment in the luxury development, Parkside House, costs €569,000 (USD 5.2 million).

Tokyo

Tokyo has always been a popular choice for property investors in South East Asia. Interest is expected to pick up now that the city is hosting the 2020 Olympics, with investments anticipated to improve its infrastructure.

Since Japan’s asset price bubble burst in 1992, few luxury apartments have been built. So when luxury developments do come onto the market in prominent districts, such as Shibuya, Omotesando and Aoyama, they tend to be snapped up by investors from Hong Kong and elsewhere.

• In Shibuya―a popular nightlife spot and trendy shopping district, a luxury 1-2 bed, 800 sq ft apartment with a balcony, close to the railway station, starts from HKD 10 million (USD 1.28).
• In Chuo-ku, a 3-bedroom, 900 sqft apartment within the luxury 14-storey Premist Nihonbashi Hamacho-Koen residential block is HKD 8 million (USD 1 million).
• New high-rise buildings, which have club house facilities, including a gym, are located in Tokyo Bay or Shinjuku where units start from HKD 3-4 million (USD 380,000 to 500,000).

New York 

Prices vary greatly in New York, depending on the location in Upper, Lower or Midtown Manhattan.

• The HKD 10 million (USD1.28 – 1.54 million) budget could buy you an apartment in Lower Manhattan or Midtown. One-bedroom, 700 sq ft luxury apartments in buildings with concierge service and gyms sell for between USD 800,000 and USD 1.2 million.
• At Extell’s One Manhattan Square, a condominium tower on the Lower East side of Manhattan, prices started at around USD 800,000 to USD 900,000, with units priced on average at USD 1.2 million.
• “The U.S. is more a more popular market for mainland Chinese buyers, than those from Hong Kong or Singapore,” observes JLL. “The main reason end-users buy properties in the U.S. is that their children are being educated there.”

Boston

Boston has seen substantial levels of regeneration and is attractive for investors seeking properties for their children studying at the city’s world-famous universities, such as Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

• Echelon Seaport, a large-scale condominium development located in the heart of Boston’s Seaport district comprises two 21-storey buildings with 447 luxury condominiums. A 700 sq ft, one-bedroom apartment is priced at USD 1.15 million.

For more information on these markets and the research in this article email Ingrid Cheh, Associate Director at JLL HK Research via the contact details below. 

Source JLL 

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