Hong Kong Developers to Adjust to New Work at Home COVID Trends

Residential design will adjust to fit the new working practice

According to JLL's newly released Residential Market Monitor report, Hong Kong property developers are expected to reconfigure apartment design to suit the working needs of dwellers as flexible workplace arrangement becomes more common in 2021.

Large corporations such as HSBC recently announced longer term flexible workplace plans where Hong Kong employees are allowed to work from home up to 4 days a week due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Such flexible workplace policy, being introduced and experimented amid the emergence of virus, may gradually bring about some lasting changes in residential development.

Norry Lee, Senior Director of Capital Markets at JLL in Hong Kong said, "When flexible workplace arrangement becomes more common, factors such as proximity between the residence and the workplace is likely a lesser consideration, while the home setting could become more of a concern. Given the government did not relax the mortgage restriction on residential, we expect developers to continue to build small-to-medium sized units to maintain smaller lump sums that can be readily digested by the market."

"However, developers may reconfigure apartment design to suit the working needs of dwellers. For example, creating space as a study room instead of an en-suite bathroom or putting co-working space within the clubhouse facilities to cater for the new normal of flexible workplace arrangement," he added.

Nelson Wong, Head of Research at JLL in Greater China also commented, "Such flexible workplace policy, being introduced and experimented amid the COVID-19 outbreak, may gradually bring about some lasting changes in residential development. We expect the new trend will provide support for residential investment."

According to JLL's research, the eight residential sites sold via government tender so far this year attracted an average of 15 bids and most of them were sold at a price falling within market expectations; reflecting the still strong incentive in residential investments.