Moving to Hong Kong: Rent or Buy? An HK$8M Example

An HK$8 million home. HK$25,000 in monthly rent. How much cash would actually remain—and could the mortgage still leave you with a shortfall? For a family moving to Hong Kong, the decision starts with school, work and daily life. In this episode, I walk through Kowloon and use one illustrative home to work through the numbers. We cover: School nets, the actual home address and tenancy agreements. Buying costs: how an HK$8M price becomes an HK$8,335,100 outlay in our example. Rental income after rates, Government rent, management, Property Tax and other model costs. Mortgage payments, cash flow and the principal you repay. The documents to check before signing. Would you rent first to try everyday life, or buy once your family's plans are clear? CHAPTERS 00:00 A family's housing decision 00:38 Talent policies and housing demand 01:24 Schools and the actual home address 02:11 Buying an illustrative HK$8M home 03:07 What remains after rental costs 04:44 Mortgage payments and the cash gap 05:31 The tenant's move-in budget 06:10 Check the building documents 06:58 A decision for the whole family MODEL NOTES All amounts are HKD. This is an illustrative private-home purchase by an individual, not a filmed listing or a property valuation. The HK$8M price is also the assumed stamp-duty tax base. Commission and legal fees are model inputs. The rental example assumes HK$25,000 a month, full occupancy and no unpaid rent. The owner pays rates, Government rent and management from that rent; annual rateable value is separately assumed at HK$300,000. The year-one balance includes a repairs reserve and initial letting costs, before financing. The mortgage assumes a 60% loan, 3.5% annual interest and a 30-year repayment term. Renovation, vacancy, major works and additional financing setup costs are excluded. A cash shortfall is not the same as total investment loss. Property-price changes and selling costs must be considered separately. The school discussion concerns government and aided Primary One admission. A school net does not guarantee a place at a particular school. Housing statistics: September 2026. Rules checked: 31 October 2026. Alvin Liu | Inside China #HongKongHousing #RentOrBuy #InsideChina