Decade, they have filled a need for long-stay but flexible housing that wasn’t previously being met. In the recent property slump, service-apartment rates fell less than both office and residential rents. But since they offer great potential returns for developers, they are only likely to become more prominent on the local real estate scene.

Nowadays, a service apartment is either technically a hotel that has long-stay suites, or an ordinary residential development that offers housekeeping. But to meet those requirements, the service-apartment complex typically has to organize hotel-style access, taxi bays and safety standards etc. By contrast, in a residential development, the owner can sell some of the units and operate others as service apartments if he prefers that kind of business model.