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Before investing, selling or renting an apartment, you typically need to check property market statistics and transaction records to help make a better budgeting or pricing decisions or to calculate your mortgage needs. Some people might also use this data for analysis and investigation. Other than Centadata, which is the most prevalent data source in the market but has its deficiencies, what others tools exist for understanding the Hong Kong real estate market?

(1) Rating and Valuation Department – Better building data

Do you know the additional information the Rating and Valuation Department (RVD) provides other than the rate and government rent of your property?

The answer may surprise you. The RVD actually has an extensive database of buildings in Hong Kong, significantly more detailed than centadata. Some of the information you can find on the RVD website includes valuation list, government rent roll; names, addresses, ages and numbers of buildings; different kinds of property market statistics such as average prices and rents of private domestics, offices, retails and flatted factories, completion and related statistics of domestics and non-domestics etc.

You can also use the Property Information Online (PIO) service provided by RVD which allows the public to easily browse property information held by the department. The online services allow querying on the saleable area, age and permitted occupation purposes of domestic properties, enquiry on rateable values, public inspection of the newly declared Valuation List and Government Rent Roll etc. Some of the services are charged.

(2) The Land Registry – Better transaction data

In addition to land and property registration, the Land Registry also announces land registration statistics monthly, providing a more comprehensive transaction history when compared with centadata. You can find Agreements for Sale and Purchase of Building Units signed, the number and consideration of mortgages each month, so as to study the trends in the real estate market.

You can access property information easily and quickly using the Integrated Registration Information System (IRIS) under the Land Registry. You can browse, download or order land registers or copies of documents, with service charges from $10 onward.

(3) Census and Statistics Department – Better demographic data

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) has been providing statistics covering various social and economic aspects of Hong Kong for many years.

Under the ‘Housing and Property’ category, there are tonnes of statistics that we shall take for reference. They include housing in figures, graphics presentation on housing statistics, private housing supply in the primary market, newly completed flats, allocation of Housing Authority (HA) public rental housing flats etc. All this information is extremely helpful to those studying government housing policies or predicting the price trends.

(4) Spacious – Independent search trends data combined with comprehensive listings and transaction data

Spacious is different from other online real estate platforms as not only does it provide monthly transaction volume and price, but it also shows you a granular breakdown by district and building. It also has a handy calculator which shows you the most undervalued rentals and sales, and also the highest yield sales – so you can find the best deals easily.

Spacious also delivers a list of haunted houses in Hong Kong. If you want to get rid of those ‘special roommates’, or you want to find an apartment with cheaper rent or selling price, you can find what you want on this list.

If you want to perform a comprehensive study of the property market, you should never rely on only one data source. Instead of browsing only one site for data, spending a little more time studying different websites might help you make a better investment decision?

Spacious helps you calculate the total cost of buying a house easily! Simply click here: Spacious Mortgage Calculator to find the total buying cost.

Spacious also has other tools that help you buy or sell your properties quickly and effectively. Go to www.spacious.hk to find your new home, or contact our sales team at [email protected] to find out the best listing package for you!