Hong Kong people who employ a foreign domestic worker must provide her with a bedroom, but sometimes maids have to content themselves with just a bed or even a shared room because of the city’s high property prices.
The most expensive maid’s room in Hong Kong, and possibly the world, can now be found at Mount Nicholson, an extravagant development at The Peak that has just broken the record for the most expensive apartments on the planet.
An anonymous buyer has paid HK$1.16 billion (US$148.5 million) for two apartments measuring 4,242 and 4,579 square feet in the joint project by Wheelock Properties and Nan Fung Development.
At more than HK$131,000 per square foot, Mount Nicholson regained the top spot in the city by dwarfing the HK$105,000 per square foot paid to Henderson Land in September for a HK$521 million home at 39 Conduit Road.
Now, a 100-square-foot room suitable for a domestic helper at Mount Nicholson, based on the current market price, would be worth around HK$13 million. That would be equivalent to 245 years of income of a foreign domestic worker at the current monthly rate of HK$4,410.
From another perspective, the domestic worker’s room is as costly as six subsidized housing units in Tuen Mun, where the entry-level price is HK$1.92 million, and it is higher than the cost of a 221-square-foot apartment at Sai Ying Pun, billed as the most expensive nano flat in the world at HK$8 million.
Economist Andy Kwan described the amounts the super-rich pay for a complete house as “crazy,” but the money they dish out for a small to medium-sized apartment is “even more crazy.”
Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive urban centre among 406 cities, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.
The prices of private homes in Hong Kong have surged 430% since 2003, the lowest point in the millennium because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). And the residential index has been on another uptrend, with prices surging for the 18th consecutive month to a record high in September.
Ingrid Cheh, director of research at JLL, told the South China Morning Post that the Mount Nicholson transaction entailed the highest per-square-foot price among apartments and condominiums in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, three of Asia’s most mature real-estate markets.
Japan’s most expensive residential building is the Park Mansion apartment complex at Hinokicho Park in Tokyo’s Roppongi district, which was pre-sold recently at 879,320 yen (US$7,845) per square foot.
In Singapore, the most expensive residence is The Marq on Paterson complex, which was transacted at S$6,840 (US$5,045) per square foot back in November 2011.
Since they talked about property, the amount of a room provided for a certain maid have been tag as the most expensive in the world based on the amount of the whole unit thereof. Hongkong runs for world’s most, as they record it. What if one day HK maids got the highest paid salary in the whole world, it’s a record too!
Tianne Vall im male fren workmin here also in HK
Increasing the salary of OFW/maids here in HongKong is much better than staying in a most expensive room.what does it profit to the helper?Even the employer provides the biggest room but let the helper works nonstop for 18hrs.and just pay the minimum salary??????
Same here… I don’t really see the point. They say most expensive domestic helper room but the way i understand it was the price of the unit in general…there is not even a picture of the room if they really want to emphasized the room.
And your point is? It’s not that a maid got to own it.
Absolutely ryt
correct????
Ka abnormal bla kon kis a etong news reporter ntong Asia Times mags na to…we don’t need an expensive room..all we need is a suitable accommodation to take a rest after a tiring day works and we need a fair salary wages with food allowances and 8 working hrs only…more than that…the employers should pay the over time…
That’s true!
what’s the use of having the most expensive room if you are treated like a slave working longer hours from 6am to 1am the following day? will you enjoy resting in that super expensive room? Nonsense! Increase the salary and give a simple room and a good treatment will be much appreciated.
i dn not see a point here. Are you trying to say that Hong Kong have a better MAID’S QUARATER than the other country? What’s the purpose pf your comparison. You know Maids don’t need a very cozzy room so long as they have thier own privy and treated well then EMPLOYER HAVE A GOOD DEAL….
It’s nonsense having a very big room if they only allow you to be there during night time or bed time
This writer is stupid and nonsense.. we dont need expensive and big room, what we need is high salary and a good employer that treating fair the domestic helper…so what if that a very expensive house?
We don’t even know if Employers will let their helpers to sleep in that room you:re boasting about. As we know, so many helpers sleeping anywhere inside the house, like in the kitchen, living room or at shared room. So, I don’t see any purpose of this news.
That 100% correct sis.
Even though that is the most expensive room for the helper, if the employer will put all of their stock inside and the only space for the helper is either the top or lower part of the bunk bed. And it’s not make sense, what important is having a good employer’s.
helper is not excited how big their own room…give enough rest…treat well thats it…
As helper we dont need expensive room.the important to us is good treatment and good food..simple room is good enough as long as we can sleep well.
Hope the maid really used the room but this is another kind of nonsense,,why portrait the maid yet maids in hongkong not all of course are treated as low class people and we don’t know if the maid really use this.
tama ka ate Scyll…