住得到 — a Hong Kong property game played at real market prices
Everything in this game is fake except the prices. Those come from the Rating and Valuation Department and the Housing Authority, which is what makes it uncomfortable.
A joke that is also a spreadsheet
Hong Kong's housing market is the city's most persistent conversation, and most of it is conducted in anecdote. 住得到 turns it into something you can actually play: view a flat, haggle over the price, apply for a mortgage, and discover how far a salary goes against a market that does not care.
The joke works because the numbers are real. In-game listings are seeded from government open data — Rating and Valuation Department average prices by property class, and actual Housing Authority subsidised sale transactions — so the gap between what a player earns and what a flat costs is not a game-design decision.
What you do in the Hong Kong property game
A full purchase, from browsing to keys, plus a daily habit and a sandbox for the ambitious.
- Browse listings and go for a viewing. The listings screen leads to a property detail view and then a viewing, which is where the negotiation happens.
- Haggle. The negotiation screen is the heart of the game — a call, an offer, a counter, and the possibility of losing the flat entirely.
- Apply for a mortgage. A simulated application with an approval result, which is where a plausible-looking purchase frequently falls apart, exactly as it does in reality.
- Inspection and completion. A mock inspection before completing, and a completion screen that is as satisfying as the game gets.
- A daily market scenario. One market situation per day with a streak, a property IQ score and a simulated net worth, plus an optional evening reminder. It is the mechanic that turns the app from a one-evening play into a daily habit.
- A property tycoon sandbox. For players who finish the main game: a market with cycles, sealed-bid auctions, rival buyers, loan sharks, a leaderboard and a prestige system for permanent unlocks.
- A property CV and a share card. A summary of your record you can share, which is how a game about Hong Kong housing is supposed to end up in a group chat.
- Written in Cantonese. The interface and the writing are in Cantonese, which is not incidental — the tone is the product.
Real data, fake transactions
The app calls the government's published datasets directly and models its data structures on the real schemas, with offline fallback copies bundled so it still runs with no connection. That is more effort than inventing prices, and it is what separates a satire that lands from a generic property game with Hong Kong scenery.
None of it is advice. No transaction is real, no listing corresponds to an actual property, and no outcome in the game should inform a decision about an actual purchase.
Who it is for
Hong Kong people, mostly — this is a game about a shared local experience and it assumes you already know why the numbers are funny. It plays best for people in their twenties and thirties for whom the premise is uncomfortably close to a real spreadsheet.
It also works as a light way to see how the pieces fit together: down payment, mortgage approval, negotiation. Nobody should learn property finance from a game, but the shape of the process is accurate enough to be a first exposure.
Data sources and disclaimer
In-game market data is seeded from Hong Kong government open data: Rating and Valuation Department average prices for private domestic units and Housing Authority subsidised sale transactions. Bundled offline copies are used when there is no connection.
This is a game for entertainment only. It is not financial, property or mortgage advice, it does not model any real transaction, and it is not affiliated with any government department, developer or agency.
Frequently asked questions
Are the prices in the game real? The market data is seeded from real government open data — Rating and Valuation Department average prices and Housing Authority subsidised sale transactions. The transactions you make in the game are entirely fictional.
Is it a game or a calculator? A game. It is for entertainment and is explicitly not financial, property or mortgage advice.
What is the daily scenario? One market situation per day, with a streak, a property IQ score and a simulated net worth. It is the reason to come back rather than to play once.
Does it work offline? Yes. Bundled fallback datasets mean it runs with no connection.
Which language is it in? Cantonese — the writing is a large part of the point.