The New Reality of Small Apartments in Global Cities

The idea of urban housing is changing rapidly in many major cities around the world. Rising property prices, limited land, high living costs and the growth of smaller households are pushing people towards compact apartments.

Among these, apartments measuring 600 to 800 square feet are becoming an important part of the housing market in several densely populated cities. The trend is particularly visible in Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo and London, although the size and price of apartments vary widely from one city to another.

Hong Kong is one of the strongest examples of this trend. According to CBRE, properties between 400 and 800 square feet account for about 52.9 per cent of residential rental transactions in the city. Units smaller than 400 square feet account for another 33.2 per cent. This means properties below 800 square feet make up about 86 per cent of rental transactions. The figures reflect strong demand for space efficient homes in a city where land and living space are expensive.

The market is also concentrated in particular areas. Kowloon remains an important market for smaller units, while the western New Territories are particularly active in the 400 to 800 square feet segment, according to CBRE.

New York shows a similar pattern. In August 2026, RentCafe reported that the average rental apartment size was 722 square feet in Manhattan and 711 square feet in Brooklyn. A typical one bedroom apartment averaged 711 square feet in Manhattan and 660 square feet in Brooklyn. This makes the 600 to 800 square feet range a common size for urban one bedroom housing in these expensive parts of New York.

The cost of living in New York is also reflected in rents. The average Manhattan apartment rent was about 5,673 US dollars per month, while a one bedroom apartment averaged 5,621 dollars. In Brooklyn, the average apartment rent was about 4,681 dollars, with one bedroom units averaging 4,506 dollars.

Tokyo is another major market where compact housing is important. In the first quarter of 2026, the average transaction price for used condominiums in Tokyo's 23 wards was around 1.38 million Japanese yen per square metre. At that rate, a 600 square foot apartment, equal to about 55.7 square metres, would cost roughly 76.9 million Japanese yen, or around 5.95 crore taka. An 800 square foot apartment, about 74.3 square metres, would cost approximately 102.6 million Japanese yen, or about 7.94 crore taka, using an exchange rate of about one Japanese yen equal to 0.774 taka.
Tokyo's new apartments are even more expensive. New condominiums in the city's 23 wards averaged 142.49 million Japanese yen in the first half of 2026.

London is another expensive market. In June 2026, the average price of a flat or maisonette in London was 431,000 British pounds, while the average price of all property types was 554,000 pounds. At an exchange rate of around 167 taka for one pound, the average London flat price was approximately 7.2 crore taka.

Prices are much higher in some central London areas. Kensington and Chelsea, for example, had an average property price of about 1.3 million pounds, or roughly 21.7 crore taka, in June 2026.

These figures show that a 600 to 800 square foot apartment is no longer simply a small home. In many expensive cities, it has become a practical urban housing model.