Hong Kongâs âCoffin Homesâ
Housing costs in Hong Kong are among the wealthy Asian financial centerâs biggest problems. Rents and home prices have steadily risen and are now at or near all-time highs.
The U.S.-based consultancy Demographia has ranked it the worldâs least affordable housing market for seven straight years, beating Sydney, Vancouver and 400 other cities. Median house prices are 19 times the median income.
Some 200,000 of Hong Kongâs 7.3 million residents live in âsubdivided units.â Thatâs up 18 percent from four years ago and includes 35,500 children 15 and under, government figures show. The figure doesnât include many thousands more living in other âinadequate housingâ such as rooftop shacks, metal cages resembling rabbit hutches and âcoffin homesâ made of stacked wooden bunks.
Itâs a universe away from the lifestyles enjoyed by the rich living in lavish mountaintop mansions and luxury penthouses, or even those with middle-class accommodation in this former British colony. (AP)
(PHOTOS: Kin Cheung/AP)
See more images of Hong Kongâs âCoffin Homesâ on Yahoo News
