Hong Kong’s luxury home rents recorded a 4.2 percent increase year-on-year in the first quarter, ranking the world’s top five fastest-growing prime rental markets, as the market continues to demonstrate its resilience, according to Knight Frank’s Prime Global Rental Index released in July.
“This performance is underpinned by sustained demand from high-net-worth individuals, expatriates and senior executives, coupled with a limited supply of quality residential stock,” said William Lau, senior director and head of residential agency.
Meanwhile, the survey, which tracks 15 key luxury lettings markets worldwide, noted that global prime rents rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, down slightly from 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, confirming that the post-pandemic rental surge has eased into a more measured phase of growth.
Sydney was the top-performing city globally, with prime rents increasing 10.6 percent annually and 5.3 percent over the quarter, highlighting strong demand and limited supply. New York ranks second with annual growth of 7.4 percent, followed closely by Tokyo at 7.2 percent, and Melbourne in fourth place at 5.4 percent.
Toronto remains the weakest market, with prime rents falling 3.2 percent over 12 months and 2.6 percent over the quarter.
“The post-Covid repricing of prime global rents has largely passed through, but the market has not moved into reverse,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank.
He added that growth is slower, more selective and increasingly dependent on local supply constraints. Markets with tight availability and resilient high-income demand are still seeing meaningful rental growth, while affordability pressures are capping performance elsewhere.
