Fantastic
 

Hey guys,

Thanks I really appreciate all the tips and comments, who said we Cx'ers couldn't have a normal discussion on Pprune??

Unfortunately I guess my timing in CX is completely off. Careerwise(15+years to command) and HKG Housing(astronomical prices), but hell at least I've still got a job and living on a base, you just can't have it all in this life.

I've read some comments and been hearing stuff like, come whenever the market crashes etc etc. I've read much about the '07/'08 market crash in the U.S. and also Ireland. My question to anyone who has a bit of experience or knowledge in this: Isn't HKG a complete different story, in the sense that it's the Mainlanders dumping HARD PAPER cash on the table instead of mortgaged money? So technically.....it's impossible for the HKG market to really crash due to FINANCIAL reasons( unless off course, SARS or anything of that sorts returns)??? I mean the market kept growing even during the 07/08 crisis.

And second. Having a wife and kids, I just could not imagine living in something smaller than 1200sqft. Where in HKG would be a nice location to have such a place for under 7Mill HKD??

Thanks dudes.

Can't be had, even in Tung Chung. My 3 bed flat is 1200 sqft in a cheap area, and is over 8M, before your stamp duty

It CAN be done.

I tried a search of property in South Lantau entered 5-7 mill, and up came a few village houses well in excess of the sizes being discussed.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but ask the people who live there and they think the rest of us are mad. I would take a trip to the Mui Wo Real Estate offices and setup a day of visits, see if it is for you. There are the villages all along the south coast with a different flavour to all and an array of prices. Maybe someone can help with more specifics or other similar areas. There are sometimes cards on the CX City noticeboard from S Lantau specialists. There are Mortgage issues, valuation complications and you need to research the area and transport, but as I said, some people love it.

difficult to get financing for a village house at the moment (not impossible, just difficult). Also, there is issues with title that need to be assured prior to finance. You will also need a car if you live out there, which is another cost that has to be factored into your 'baseline' costings (never mind the equivalent of $9 us/gal).

That's an oxymoron basically saying you can get what you want if you live where you don't want:confused:

Which schools do people use living there?

I lived there while having some renovations done. Hated it. It's too under developed, Sai Kung is better for country living but $$$ and miles from work (car again).

To live in HK you must sacrifice something of your Western lifestyle unless you can get a housing allowance to cover it. Period.

ASH, correct..Tung Chung ,DB where as before there was a 30 to 40% difference 15 years ago,now we are looking at like for like pricing (within reason) on the majority of similar type properties..

Tung Chung is not cheap anymore!!

Whoa. Best give good information. Village Houses are 50% mortgages ONLY!!

Very, very difficult to get done in this environment. In addition, any South Lantau Village House that is only 7Mil, will be either EXTREMELY "local", or in need of 2-3Mil in renos.

As previously said CAN'T BE DONE.

Gents, thats 50% of bank valuation remember? So say you find your dream village house, complete with dogs and flooded septic tank, for $6 mil, bank will value it at $5 maximum, assuming you dont have permanent residence, 20% duty on the sales price, you only need 3.5mil for the deposit, and 1mil for the tax! Bargain!!!! Do most new joiners have 450,000 euro to splash on a deposit?

That's exactly why it will crash... financial reasons! Right now, there's lots of support keeping the HKG housing market up, but interest rates are low. When the interest rates in the US go up, you'll see a drop in HKG real estate prices. Personally, I wouldn't be jumping in as a first time buyer right now.

GI pilot, you have kids, do them a favour and do some research on pollution , rather than believing the BS the HK government spews forth. For example the life expectancy argument , if you started smoking when you were 40 or 50 you probably wouldn't die of lung cancer, well the pollution didn't really start til 10-15 years ago, so we will see how good it is in 20 years, meanwhile 12-1500 people die in HK each year and it's getting gradually worse, you will be playing Russian roulette with your family's lives.
Here's a good place to start : Hedley environmental index, the guy that started this recently returned to the UK due to his health deteriorating in HK.
The fact that nearly every poster here only talks about money says it all really.
Good luck with your decision

WhiteNone,

Sorry, but you did read that Klimax was on a total package of over 140K/mnth, right? Compare that with a CX new joiner on 45K, and you are comparing apples and hand grenades!!

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