Rents are going up everywhere... time to move to Shenzhen...
Booyaka!
Disco Bay rents hit record 2,099 sq ft house sets benchmark at HK$70 per square foot
Sandy Li
Sep 03, 2008 
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Upmarket Discovery Bay rentals have surged to a record HK$70 per square foot, bringing them almost in line with rents paid in the Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island.The new benchmark price for Discovery Bay was fetched last month by a 2,099sqft house with a 1,000sqft garden at 48Headland Drive that leased for HK$146,000 per month, said Tony Poon Hing-leung, a senior manager at Midland Realty's Discovery Bay branch.
The high rent was because the owner had invested about HK$1.5 million to upgrade the 28-year-old house. "That made it a rare product," Mr Poon said.
However, another house at 22Headland Drive also fetched a similar rent recently and with only three houses remaining on offer on Headland Drive, tenants hoping to move into the area would have to pay a premium, he added. "The exceptionally high rents are also encouraging other owners to refurbish their houses in order to command a higher return."
By contrast houses that have not been recently decorated fetched rentals in a range of HK$40 to HK$45 per square foot.
The residential leasing market in Discovery Bay had become active since an international school opened for admission applications earlier this year, he said. Average rents were up about 15 per cent as a result.
Midland Realty has about 200 units for lease.
Simon Lee Wai-ling, an assistant associate director at Centaline Property Agency's Discovery Bay branch, said most of the staff working at the international school would move to Discovery Bay.
The school offered kindergarten, primary and secondary classes, which would be sought after by parents both in Discovery Bay and outside. "It creates new leasing demand," Mr Lee said.
Leasing transactions rose 25 per cent to about 100 deals last month from 80 previously and rentals fetched by high-rise flats averaged about HK$19 per square foot, while low-rise rentals were about HK$28 per square foot, he said.
Landlords at the Siena low-rise development were asking for rentals of about HK$30,000 a month for a 1,300sqft unit, while units in nearby Chianti which ranged in size from 660sqft to 2,400sqft were leasing at between HK$10,000 and HK$25,000 a month.
"The two projects are within walking distance of the international school," Mr Lee said.
Before the opening of the school, residents who lived in Discovery Bay had to move to Hong Kong Island or Kowloon once their children reached secondary school age. "This new international school will lure them back," he said.