Chaoyang Park Life Jacky Hu of Waveland Realty

As a founder of Waveland Realty, one of the city’s oldest realty companies, Jacky Hu has spent the last 15 years helping expats relocate to and settle in Beijing. Agenda sat down with the Qingdao native to talk about his favorite area of town and why it’s a great place to live.

Tell us a little bit about this area.
The Chaoyang Park area is very good for families. The park itself is the biggest in downtown Beijing, and contains several amusement areas for children as well as a lake. Many over-seas families choose this area for that reason. And Chaoyang Park lies between Beijing’s two biggest business centers, the CBD and Lufthansa, so it’s the best area for foreigners to live.

How about shopping centers and grocery markets?
You can find a lot of restaurants and bars at Solana and Lucky Street. Solana is a European-style shopping center with a supermarket, children’s playground and a cinema. It’s full of international brands, it has a lot of parking space, and the restaurants are clean and classy. The area also has Jenny Lou’s and Jingkelong supermarket for the convenience of everyday grocery shopping. You can also decorate your apartment with fresh flowers and accessories from Laitai Flower Market.

What schools are available to families in the area?
The two most popular schools in this area are Eton Kindergarten and BISS International School.

How about public transportation?
There’s subway Line 10 and dozen of bus stations. You can easily get to the airport via the Airport Express Line.

What are the hottest properties in this area?
Park Avenue and Park View Tower – both are international compounds. Park Avenue, which was developed by the US real estate company Hines, is a compound that has quality apartments with simple and modern decor, which Europeans prefer the most. Palm Springs, as compared with Park Avenue, has a more ornate and luxurious exterior. Asians like it more than Park View. But both have a good environment, international-level facilities and are professionally managed.

What are the average rents for the area?
In Chaoyang Park, you can expect to pay about RMB 10,000 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. For 2-bedroom/1-bath, it’s RMB 15,000/month. And a 3-bedroom/2-bath unit is about RMB 20,000/month.

What is the average price per square meter for units in this area?
If you’re looking to buy an apartment in this area, the prices range from RMB 40,000/sqm to RMB 50,000/sqm, and property management fees run anywhere between RMB 5 and RMB 8 per square meter per month. Do you see any major developments in the area in the next ten years? This area will begin to develop as a business center with the arrival of the Phoenix Tower.

Where do you see the pricing trends going near Chaoyang Park?
With the new policies that the government has set out, the market will stabilize for a certain period of time. Since home values in Beijing are already pretty high, I think the home-selling market will stay stable for a while. As for rental prices, since more and more properties will become available for rent, those prices will go lower.

What would you say are the best restaurants and bars in the area?
Muse – there’s a lot of variety on the menu, the food is delicious, and the environment is very comfortable. As for good Chinese restaurants, I would say Roast Duck King and Xiang Man Lou.

What sets your company apart from the others?
Our employees are all well-educated and experienced. We have excellent salespeople who speak different languages. Having been in business in Beijing for 15 years, we have developed a good reputation with property owners and foreign clients. The owners list their properties with our company directly. Because we get very accurate information from them, we can help our clients find the most suitable apartments and houses.

What special services do you offer to your clients?
Our company is one of the only real estate agencies that has dealt with foreign clients since the early 1990s. We provide airport pick-up, viewings of international schools and properties, renting the properties, after-sale service, and moving-out service. We even have our own interior decor company, which can serve tenants directly when property owners are away from Beijing. It saves time for both parties.

What advice would you give to our readers on renting or buying an apartment?
If you want to buy an apartment to live in, it’s an OK time to do so. If you want to buy one as an investment, this moment is not ideal. If you want to rent a house, of course, you should come to us.

To learn more about these apartments and properties you can contact Jacky Hu at 139 0109 8016 or visit www.wavelandrealty.com.

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