I was going through the advertisements for housing here in expat.com. I'd hate to pop the bubble of most expats, but the asking rates are OUTRAGEOUS. I OWN houses in Zhuhai, and Shenzhen. As such, I pretty much know the going rate(s).
For instance, I have a two BR in Shenzhen in the Nanshan district. It is right ON the subway. It is fully furnished, as is typical in China with 2 year old everything. I am asking 6000 RMB for it. Now that is in the heart of SZ, and on a major subway line. It is downtown in one of the top cities of China.
Places that I have rented in TangXia and Zhuhai are much cheaper. Clocking at 2000 to 3000 RMB / month for everything.
So imagine my surprise when I saw a recent ad for a 90 sq meter, two Br, in ZhongShan for 13,000+ RMB/month. (In Zhongshan, typical apartment prices for a two br range from 700 RMB/month on the low side to up to 3500 RMB/month on the high side.) 13,500 is way, way above the local range.
Now, one can only come to a precious few conclusions regarding this. I hope other expats can clarify for me, because it certainly looks like someone is trying to rip off expats BIG TIME.
Either...
[1] The apartments come with some unspecified benefit. Maybe solid gold faucets, or pre-paid maid service (300 RMB/month).
or...
[2] There is an active effort to rip off fellow expats.
So, this is addressed to expats currently living in China in an apartment that they are renting. (Not one provided by your company.) How much are you paying for your apartment plus utilities? And... and... how does it compare to the prices advertised on expat.com for apartments?
I will start.
I have a house in Zhuhai. It is next to a park, and by the beach. Ocean side view. It is 90 sq meter, and two br, with two bathrooms. It is furnished, with new everything. The apartment was redone last year. I pay 2200 RMB/month (on a one year lease), with electricity and baoan costs equal to 1000 RMB tops. This makes my total monthly cost around 3200 RMB/month for a two br/ two bath on the beach.
I would anticipate that many expats would probably have more or less the same housing costs. (Depending where you live for sure.) I know, for instance, many schools will provide a 2000 RMB housing benefit so that teachers can get a house and share it with another teacher. That provides a total cost of 4000 RMB to work with.
The cheapest housing that I know of is of the older housing with a shared bathroom building at the end of the street. The apartments are on the top floors (typically 8 floors) in a old building without an elevator. They may or may not have A/C. Costs for such a place run from 250 RMB/month to 500 RMB/month.
The most expensive apartment that I know of is next to the SZ stock exchange. It is a five Br, and occupies the top penthouse floor in downtown SZ. It is around 10,000 RMB/month.
What have you? What's the story on the apartment advertisements here on expat.com?
Why are the ads for apartments in expat.com so outrageously expensive?
Expats have to be very careful when selecting housing as many of the advertisers assume expats are fair game for ripping off.
The advice remains the same for every country - always shop around before you commit to a place as you'll find quite a few estate agents are nothing short of thieves with a nice office.
It is because 1) location; 2) location and 3) location.
How much different between rentals of apartments in NYC and, let's say, Houston ?
We briefly discussed this on the thread I started, but there is now way that 10,000 is the most expensive apartment you can know of in SZ!
4 bed a partments near Coastal City can be as much as 18,000 a month. Here
2 bed apartments are nearer 10,000 a month.Here
I search using qfang and all the prices on the sire seem to be consistent with one another, its a Chinese site with no English language option so it can't be targeting foreigners.
Houhai is quite a bit more expensive than OCT or Window of the World and as you move South towards Shekou the pricing becomes far more expensive.
@jonbennison
I rent a 240 m2 apartment on the coast in zhuhai. I have a 60m2 huge porch with plants. A sea side view. It is four bedroom, with two baths. I even have a wine cellar! I might only be the person in China with a wine cellar. LOL. I have a sea side view and the ocean is right there. Yet, I "only" pay 8000 RMB/month.
The link you gave is for a 83 m2 Shekou apartment with 2br/2bath. It's pretty old at 2004. But they are asking for 10K RMB/month. So you are absolutely right. I might very well be wrong.
So we called our our real estate friends in SZ and they are looking into the costs for us. If the rates have gone up so rapidly, then I need to adjust the rents that I ask for. My properties are in prime locations with subway access. Yet I only ask for around 6K/month for a furnished apartment. From what I gather, I might be able to double that amount.
There are deals and there are deals. If the prices are really now that high in SZ, then I will certainly raise the rent on my tenants in Nanshan. I don't want to fall behind the times.
Where is your apartment in Nanshan exactly?
Apartments near stations that are on the Line 11 metro have probably seen substantial increases in rent because of the convenience that line provides in order to get to the Airport and Futian etc.
I'm looking to move to Shenzhen so I have been looking at lots of properties on qfang and other sites and most prices seem very similar.
Even a 70sqm apartment in Fuyong (past the airport is) is now 3600rmb.
There are however places in Nanashan (nearer the Bao An border) that are still 5000rmb a month for a two bedroom, but they are old buildings.
I leased a 100+ sq mtr 2B2B apartment right next to Window of the World in 2004-2005. I paid RMB5500/mth then. The apartment was fairly new, but nothing extravagant. Missed the weekly fireworks though. I heard the rent is way much higher now in Shenzhen.
On the other hand, rent is much cheaper in Zhongshan. It should be no more than RMB5000/mth now in Zhongshan.
Those apartments I am talking about are high-rise, with elevators in closed-gate community.
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