Those prices are NOT for apartments right on the water. Yes, it's true that in each building, if you have a water view, the rent is higher, but that's true in every building in every location, not just the primo areas. HKG 20K (nearly $2,700 US) is a studio facing a building, not the water, with ZERO view at all. HKG 25K (US $3,300+) is a 1-BR, again facing a building, with no view. HKG 38K (nearly US $5,100) is for a 1-BR with a water view (NOT right on the water), and that's for a grand total of 815 sq.ft.
OH, and don't forget the monthly service fee, either ... which runs from US $120/mo. for a studio to US $175/mo. for a 3-BR (about US $150 for a 2-BR). And this is not for a premium complex, folks -- this is standard. By the way, many of you don't realize that HKG is a mountain. You either face the water, or a building, or a steep hillside, unless you live in Kowloon (downtown). But there's not much acceptable housing in KLN, either -- lots of high-rise sub-standard firetrap tenements, crammed with extended Chinese families, but not much that's up to U.S. standards.