The Pearl of the Orient. The City of Life. Call it what you will, Hong Kong is still cray cray for residential property.

Wan Chai is a fancy metropolitan area comparable to Darlinghurst, situated on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. To get a slice of the buzz here you can buy a large (by Honkers standards), 61 sqm luxury two bedroom, with 1 bathroom in The Zenith building on Queens Road for $AUD 1.7 mil.

Wan Chai is described as the heart of the city. It represents the epitome of Hong Kong lifestyle. There is a well-established arts centre, a conference complexe, luxury apartments, five-star hotels, shopping malls, office towers and a large cluster of government buildings.

In Darlinghurst, at Harry Seidler’s Horizon, you can get a comparable sized apartment on a lower floor, with similar amenities. In little ol’ Sydney, 301/184 Forbes Street on the third floor of Horizon sold recently for $AUD 1.225mil, proving Darlinghurst is still more affordable than Hong Kong.

This modern & streamlined apartment in Harry Seidler’s ‘Horizon’ enjoys iconic glimpses of Sydney’s skyline from the balcony.

Hong Kong is still more expensive. Overall it dwarfs us in terms of house prices, but this is rather unsurprising considering HK is the financial capital of Asia, has a tradition of expensive property, high demand and most of the land is still owned by the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong also has several green belts which make demands on building to scrape the sky.

Hong Kong quick facts

• Population: 7.2 million
• Median house price: $AUD 730,000 
• Average household income: $AUD 50,000
• Avg. size of home: 45 sqm
• Cost per square metre: $AUD 31,958

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Sydney versus the world

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The Hamptons vs. Palm Beach

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