With more and more high net worth individuals moving to the country, the luxury rental business of some real estate companies has followed suit, and even though some luxury properties are renting for as much as $80,000 per month, demand is still strong and even hard to find a home.

According to the analysts interviewed, there are not many luxury units available for rent in Hong Kong, and with the re-opening of China and the increasing number of high net worth individuals, the luxury rental business of real estate companies is expected to continue to benefit.

The local luxury rental market was a strong performer last year, with landed residential rents rising 28.1 per cent for the year, with a total of 5,552 units for rent.

Of these, the Dalvey Estate and Fourth Avenue areas each had the most expensive GCBs at $150,000 per month. This means that tenants are paying $1.8 million a year in rent alone, which is enough to buy a quality three-bedroom flat unit.

In addition, property platform Edgeprop reported in June last year that a prime townhouse in Queen Astrid Park was being rented out to a wealthy Chinese national for $200,000 a month ($2.4 million a year). However, the lease was not reflected in the Urban Renewal Authority's figures.

In an interview with the Union-Tribune, Han Huanmei, head of research at List Sotheby's International Realty, pointed out that only 18 houses with rents of at least $50,000 in 2021 had more than doubled to more than 40 last year, reflecting the strong trend in the luxury rental market.

These luxury tenants include multinational executives, as well as wealthy foreigners who are applying for permanent residency or citizenship in Singapore," she said. High net worth individuals, like some Chinese and European ones, are willing to pay high prices to rent quality townhouses, mainly to experience the unique lifestyle of such luxury properties."

In addition to luxury property owners, some real estate companies such as City Developments (CDL), Far East Organization and Ascott have also entered the luxury rental market, offering several high-end flats and townhouses for rental purposes.

City Developments, for example, has a number of manned rental units at St Regis Residences and Cuscaden Residences, as well as a number of quality townhouses available for rent.

A City Developments spokesperson said the company's local residential rental business offers more than 300 luxury units with a current occupancy rate of nearly 100 per cent, with rents starting at $80,000 for a quality townhouse and $12,500 for a three-bedroom high-end private home.

A spokesperson said, "Our rental business portfolio has benefited from solid market demand due to the return of foreigners with the reopening of countries' borders, which has been aided by the limited supply of quality rental units in the market."

Far East Organization currently has 1,600 private residential units for lease with an occupancy rate of more than 90 per cent, with a quarter of these units renting for more than $8,000, with luxury properties such as Orchard Scotts, Nassim Regency and Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard renting for at least $10,000.

In addition, it has premium townhouses at Villas Holland that rent for $60,000.

Irene Kwok, head of sales and leasing at Far East Organization, said the company had seen an increase in luxury tenants over the past two years, mainly from China, India and the United States. The percentage of Chinese tenants has increased from 10 per cent to 18 per cent.

She also said: "We have observed an increase in individual leasing from 78 per cent to 83 per cent from 2020 to 2022, with a corresponding decrease in corporate leasing over the same period. This may be due to delays in construction caused by the epidemic and the extended completion times for public and private housing. In addition, given the mixed working arrangements, tenants tend to rent larger units to have more privacy."

Ascott, for its part, operates a number of black and white townhouses on Mount Pleasant Road, ranging from 15,000 sq ft to 270,000 sq ft. These houses have fully-equipped kitchens and bathrooms, as well as maid's quarters, and some have outdoor swimming pools.

In an interview, Ascott's Managing Director for South East Asia, Carole Wong, said that the houses are on long-term leases and are now fully let, with most tenants having leases of two years or more.

She said the company's long-term accommodation business was resilient and demand remained strong. "We expect this momentum to continue into 2023, especially with the lifting of some epidemic-related restrictions in China, and we are receiving more enquiries for Singapore accommodation."