While rents have continued to rise steadily under the influence of the inflow of students and professionals from the Mainland and users switching from buying to renting, property prices have been adjusting downwards since April under the impact of the interest rate hike cycle and the low-priced first-hand property sales.

It is expected that the rental market will continue to be active in the fourth quarter, with rents stabilising at a high level, but the decline in property prices has accelerated over the same period, and it is believed that rents will outperform property prices for the whole of this year. It is estimated that the Centa-City Rental Index (CRI) will rise by about 7% year-on-year, while the Centa-City Leading Index (CCL) will fall by about 5% year-on-year.

Divided by the 117 CRI Mass large-scale constituent estates, the rate of rental increase for Kowloon estates in 2023 is significantly ahead of Hong Kong Island, New Territories East and New Territories West. Among them, rents in Kowloon East (Hung Hom, Kwun Tong, Tseung Kwan O and Wong Tai Sin) rose by an average of 5.32% in August this year compared with December last year, which was significantly higher than the 4.52% increase in Kowloon West (Cheung Sha Wan, Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei).

Among Kowloon East, the rent of Whampoa Garden and Whampoa New Village increased by more than 10%, up 11.49% and 10.56% respectively, while the rent of Harbourfront South increased by 9.09%, which is believed to be due to the proximity of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which has attracted a lot of students to take up rents of housing estates in the vicinity of Hung Hom. Tseung Kwan O estates close to the University of Science and Technology have seen their rents rise by more than half a per cent, with Metro City and New Treasure City rising by nearly 10%, by 9.91% and 9.36% respectively.

In Kowloon West, rental increases were 10.72% for Sunnyvale and 9.09% for Metropole. However, Mei Foo Sun Chuen, a traditional housing estate, only increased by 2.67%, so the rental increase is relatively lagging behind.

On Hong Kong Island, rents in Hong Kong Island East (North Point, Shau Kei Wan, Causeway Bay and Wan Chai) have increased by 2.53% on average this year, which is higher than the 1.51% increase in Hong Kong Island South West (Aberdeen, Mid-Levels, Sheung Wan and Western District). Xi Hui and The Glorious Cove also saw rent increases of 7.53%, which was the highest among the many estates in Hong Kong Island East, mainly due to the popularity of Wan Chai among domestic professionals.

Taikoo Shing and Yat Tao Wan also saw their rents rise by more than half a per cent, by 6.34 per cent and 5.15 per cent respectively. However, Kornhill Garden and Heng Fa Chuen saw smaller rental increases of 3.68% and 3.37% respectively. In the south-west of Hong Kong Island, the rents of Hong Kong City and Heng Fa Chuen near the University of Hong Kong rose by 8.75% and 4.19% respectively, obviously driven by students in the district.

The rent of the traditional housing estate, South Horizons, rose by 5.50%. On the other hand, the rents of Ka Fai Garden and Queen's Terrace only increased by 1.22% and 1.04% respectively.

In New Territories East, rents of housing estates in New Territories South East (Ma On Shan, Sha Tin) rose by 3.95% on average, while rents of housing estates in New Territories North East (North District, Tai Po) rose by 3.16%. Estates in Southeast New Territories with rental increases of around 10% included Dragon Hill by 10.56%, Hearthside Court by 10.18%, The Masterpiece by 9.60%, The Ritz by 9.60%, and The Ritz by 10.18%.

The City of Fame increased by 9.60% and Newport City by 9.14%. City One Shatin, a traditional housing estate, lagged behind with an increase of 1.53%.

In the Northeast New Territories, rents of Sheung Shui Centre and Royal Court rose by 5.94% and 4.92% respectively. Tai Po Centre saw a rental increase of 4.72%, as the convenient access to schools attracted students from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The University of Education.

In New Territories West, the average rent of housing estates in New Territories South West (Islands, Tsuen Wan) increased by 2.42%, but the rent of housing estates in New Territories North West (Tin Shui Wai, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long) decreased by 2.25%. The rentals of Coastal Skyline and Caribbean Coast in Southwest New Territories increased by 8.66% and 6.10% respectively, indicating an increase in the demand for rental properties in Tung Chung by pilots and flight crews after the clearance. The rents of Luk Yeung San Tsuen, Tsui Yee Garden and Belvedere Garden increased by about 6% each. In the Northwest New Territories, the rent of Stacked Garden near Lingnan University rose by 2.55%, but the rent of Tai Hing Garden in the same district dropped by 8.27%. The rent of Kingswood Villas, a traditional housing estate, was relatively stable, with a slight drop of 0.90 per cent this year.