A housing estate is seen under Lion Rock Hill in Kowloon city. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)
To many Hong Kong youngsters, the words “home ownership” may have long vanished from their vocabularies, with no end in sight to the city’s skyrocketing property prices that have now catapulted far beyond their reach.
If the ever-growing army of Hong Kong residents who have lost all hope of owning a roof over their heads want some solace, they may have well found some comfort in the rising trend of “co-living”.
Having met the manager of a co-living apartment in Tai Kok Tsui once, Leung Hei-man passed the “interview” and was offered a bed space for a monthly rent of HK$3,000 (US$390).
Calling herself a “lucky dog”, the 25-year-old designer, who used to rent a village house with her family in Tai Po, met all the “entry requirements” set by the apartment’s owner — she has to be a permanent Hong Kong resident between 18 and 30 years old, with a monthly salary not exceeding HK$20,000 and total assets of less than HK$350,000, and not owning any property locally.
The 900-square-foot apartment she rented has a living room, a toilet, a shower, a kitchenette and a bedroom she shares with two other women.
Least-affordable place
Overcrowded Hong Kong has already earned for itself the dubious honor of being the world’s least-affordable place to live for the 10th year running, where a local family on average needs to save for 20.8 years without spending a single dollar in order to get enough money to buy a home.
Moreover, the average waiting time for public housing has climbed to 5.5 years.
It feels like living in the university dormitory, reminding me of my care-free college days when I didn’t have to worry about becoming a mortgage slave or facing the prospect of never ever owning a home
Leung Hei-man, a 25-year-old designer living in a co-living apartment
In the face of endless demands for more affordable housing, co-living may offer a cost-saving solution, if not a long-term or sustainable answer, to millennials and lower-income groups.
Due to the scarcity of bed spaces and the sheer number of applicants, Leung’s lease is for only two years. During that time, if she can save a certain amount of money monthly, the co-living apartment, with its subsidized saving plan, will put one-third of that amount, capped at HK$1,200 per month, into a savings pool. When the lease expires, the money will be given out to tenants in a lump sum to help them pursue their future endeavors.
Asked about her future plans, Leung seemed distressed. The co-living apartment and the subsidized saving plan may offer a brief respite from her housing woes. Two years later, when she moves out of the unit, she’s worried that nothing will change.
“Let’s face it. To be sure, having a roof over my head continues to be an elusive dream, and I may well have to fork out the lion’s share of my salary to rent a downtown room,” she moaned.
The worst-case scenario, Leung said, is for her to move back to the village house in the suburbs to live with her family, which may sound like a disappointing end to the story — ending up back at square one.
But Leung believes it may be too early to take that option. For ordinary young people from a grassroots family like hers, a co-living apartment offers more opportunities and options she dares not expect from Hong Kong’s housing conundrum.
“Although opportunities and options may not last long, just as the clock strikes midnight for Cinderella, you know at least you have some time to catch your breath and plan your life under the shadow of the world’s most expensive housing market,” she said.
Myles Huang, research director of capital markets at JLL Asia Pacific, agreed. “Although the price lists for co-living spaces are quite diverse, they’re generally more affordable than a studio apartment. The size of a co-living space does compare favorably with small apartments on the market — micro-apartments of a mere 20 square meters are being marketed in Hong Kong,” he said.
A modern lifestyle
Besides being touted as an alternative option for affordable, transitional housing, co-living is believed to have more to offer.
Seen as an extension of the co-working trend, in which people share office space and common facilities to save costs and share ideas, “the concept of co-living is a form of short-term housing where residents share living space and a set of values. It offers a solution for young urban professionals, millennials and expats seeking an enriching lifestyle and to become part of a close-knit community,” explained Simon Smith, senior director of research and consultancy at Savills.
“It’s part of a modern, urban lifestyle that values openness and sharing, and is in line with the general shift toward ride-sharing/car-sharing and co-working,” Huang added.
According to JLL, there are an estimated 58,500 young professionals living in Hong Kong, which is equivalent to 0.8 percent of the population that needs housing. Such a strong demand is encouraging budget- and boutique-hotel operators, especially underperforming local hotels and service apartments, to consider building a presence in the co-living market to cater to them.
Rents for fully furnished rooms near MTR stations usually range from HK$3,500 to HK$20,500 a month. Besides basic cleaning services, activities like game nights or community volunteering organized by the landlord are provided, so tenants are able to live among their peers, exchange ideas and share their experiences. From a tenant’s perspective, co-living provides three elements — convenience, community and connectivity.
“It feels like living in a university dormitory, reminding me of my care-free college days when I didn’t have to worry about becoming a mortgage slave or facing the prospect of never ever owning a home,” Leung said.
Denis Ma, head of research at JLL in Hong Kong, said, “The shift away from simply a form of affordable housing toward a lifestyle choice is also drawing a new wave of investors into the Hong Kong co-living sector.”
By June 2019, there were up to six hotel operators offering co-living services in Hong Kong, according to a report from Savills.
Such a co-living trend is also catching on in neighboring cities, including Singapore, Asia’s costliest city, on a par with Hong Kong, where co-living has what it takes to bridge a housing gap that traditional living categories cannot support.
Elsewhere, the rapid evolution of the Chinese mainland’s multifamily rental market has made it one of the most-developed co-living markets in the world.
