The battle for beds among mainland and foreign students coming to Hong Kong has kicked off earlier than usual amid an unending hostel crunch and soaring rents in the world’s most unaffordable city.
And a growing number of non-local applicants – amid a US clamp on overseas students especially from China – is exacerbating the shortage.
Hong Kong, ranked as the world’s most unaffordable city for the 14th year on the trot in 2024 by Demographia International Housing Affordability, has seen rents near campuses jump as much as 10 percent compared to a 3.6 percent rise in the overall private home rental index in April.
The average student-to-dormitory ratio across Hong Kong’s eight public colleges is 3.4:1, which means around three students are vying for a single bed, a Cushman & Wakefield study reveals.
By 2027, the shortfall will reach at least 55,400 beds.
In 2024-25, non-locals made up 66.3 percent of enrolment at the University of Hong Kong, 43.8 percent at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and 24.5 percent at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“I started home hunting in May, but most homes in Tai Po had already been leased,” said Chloe Wong Ziyin, who recently secured a post-graduate seat at the Education University of Hong Kong.
Tai Po is popular with students at EdUHK and CUHK.
David Cheng Man-kit, an account supervisor at Midland Realty, said he saw nearly 10 homes leased in Tai Po in May.
Charlie Cha Yuqi, a PhD student at the City University of Hong Kong, revealed she received over 10 messages in a week after placing a post for a roommate in April, an indication of the surge in demand.
She said that when she first came to the city for post-grad studies in 2021, she regretted signing her lease as early as June, as she found she could have shopped for better options even into July. “But now, trying to get a place in May feels late,” she said.
Midland chief analyst Buggle Lau Ka-fai attributes the earlier renting season to rising interest in Hong Kong colleges.
He noted that five of the eight public colleges now rank among the world’s top 100.
And rents are surging in areas near college campuses.
Rents at Tai Po Centre, where a two-bedroom usually goes for HK$13,888 month, have risen by HK$2,000 in May alone.
In nearby Sha Tin, rents are up 8 percent year-on-year, according to Stanley Ng Kam-kee, deputy regional sales manager at Centaline Property.
Western District, favored by HKU students, has seen a 5 percent rise in rents, said Centaline’s chief sales director Raymond Li Ngai.
In Tseung Kwan O, near the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, rents are up to 10 percent, said Centaline’s senior regional sales director Crystal Tam Kwai-ching.
She said that overall, rents across the city have risen between 3 percent and 12 percent.
Meanwhile, CUHK’s admissions and financial aid director Andy Wong Ka-chat estimates non-local student applications for 2025-26 have surged by least 20 percent from a year ago, driven partly by US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on overseas students, according to Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister publication.
He said there’s been a strong rise in numbers from mainland students, as well from other countries.
Vincent Huang, director of master of arts in communication at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the number of applicants with overseas bachelor’s degrees has doubled for 2025-26, especially from the United States.
Some even declined offers from UK universities in favor of HKBU, he added.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has welcomed students facing unfair US policies, and said he is looking at further increasing the non-local student quota in the eight government-funded colleges, which has already been doubled to 40 percent.
(Cici Cao)
