We just bought a 3 bedroom flat for 5.5 mil HKD. A whopping 1030 sq ft (930 net) but the place is clean and modern. There are cheaper, larger places in South Lantau and in other areas of HK. Flats in Central can cost you twice as much or more. Either way, all pretty affordable on the housing assistance, which now stands at $56,000 per month, assumed a fixed payment for the length of the mortage, for a maximum of 15 years.
There is a tax break for first time home buyers. I believe the interest is tax deductible for a certain period of time (1 or 2 years?). I'm sure the HK govt web site (Inland Revenue Department) would have more info.
You can afford a bigger place if you rent, and you won't have to pay govt rates (property taxes) and management fees.
If you buy, you have to come up with a down payment. You also have to pay stamp duty (a lump sum property tax) of about 3%. If your down payment is less than 30% of the property value, you need to pay about 4% towards mortgage insurance premiums. Also, your housing assistance is considered to be in addition to your income and taxed at your income rate (about 15%). I figure that, all told, if you sell your house after 10 years for what you paid for it, you'll end up keeping about 70% of the Cx assistance over that time, after paying for all the taxes, fees, and incidentals.
Last edited by betaboy; 30th April 2007 at 13:44.