I'm moving my family to Kunming at the end of November and I'm curious on how we should best go about looking for an apartment. We've spent months browsing the forums/classifieds on GK and a few other sites...but it seems near impossible to get a good feel for the market.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to begin my search?

Any good agents that you would refer?

Thank you for your advice!

Ty

It will be easier if you already know where you are going to work or study. Then live in a hotel in that area for a few days and go see real estate agencies so that they can make you visit apartments and give you an idea of the price . If your Chinese is good, you can browse local real estate websites and avoid agents.

I would also come here and live in a hotel, or get a short term lease.
Until you get here you will get no feel for the market. Or local services.
Actually, I know some people are allergic to agents, but you can get them to do a lot of work for you. The real estate market here is fiercely competitive.

One important thing to realise about the market. Houses are bought and sold here in days, not months. Renting is the same. Also landlords can be very flexible, and this is where an agent comes in handy. They may not be flexible on price (all they seem to care about here), but will be flexible on other T&Cs. Like adding or subtracting furniture, appliances, etc.

That's good advice...thank you!

Is it typical to negotiate furnishings?

Is the typical lease, 1 year?
What is a fair (approx) price for a 3 bedroom with at least 1 western toilet?

Appreciate it!

Ty

Typical lease is 1 yr. Some will try to push for 2, some can be pushed down. Deposits vary from 1 month to 4, depending on what is in the apartment.
We always negotiate on furniture. Always a NEW western style mattress. Chinese mattresses are hard, very hard. We have also negotiated on new sofas and fridge. These additions are then amortized (added to the rent) over the life of the contract. If the contract is one year make sure you agree up front that the rent comes down in second year. Yes you are buying stuff that you will leave behind, but if you bought it yourself it would be up front cost. Things like fridges, they may just upgrade if they are really crappy. But fridges here are not expensive. Mattresses however are.

Having recently sold a home here, closed rented office space and rented new spaces all in a three month period this year I have a few added comments to offer. First, you need an experienced Chinese speaker to help you. Second, do not trust the largest real estate agency here. The private smaller agents have better customer service and are in my opinion more honest. Location selection for your convience is most important. A unfurnished downtown apartment of about 120 sq meters will average 3500rmb and up these days. The standard real estate agreements in general favor the landlord not you. These are gentlemens agreements in general. Do not sign things the agents insist on unless you know what you are signing. Property owner rights can be very strong here. One months rent is usually the agents fee. One months rent is often the deposit. The advertised sq meter space may not be accurate especially if the rental ad is directed at foreigners. The standard notice you have to move out early cost to the landloard is 10% plus one months rent. There are many other considerations.

Making tenants move out before their lease expires is one of the most common scams here in Yunnan. Especially for foreigners who always do some repairs in the house before moving in.

Here are some preventative measures I have learned over the years as this has happened to me 3 times in the past 10 years.

1 - Tell the landllord to give you a bankbook for the elect, water and gas so you don't have to worry about going to each office to pay the bill every 2 months. This will ensure you are not stuck with any old bills from previous tenants. I was once told I had to pay the 600 RMB water bill before we moved in. Haha.

2 - Since you must give a copy of your passport then you should be able to get a copy of their ID card. Also, get a copy of their Redbook - Fang Chan Zheng - 房产证. Make sure the ID card matches the name on the redbook. Many relatives do this for the owner. You want the person who has ultimate responsibility not some relative who is acting as an agent.

3 - Finally, ask the real estate agent to write in an additional clause that states if you are asked to move out before the lease expires, the lanlord must pay restitution in the amount of the fee payed to the real estate agent as well as any repairs - so keep all your receipts. You can not receive restitution for labor - only parts.

If the landlord is not willing to do any of the above 3 items then I will not sign a lease with them.

Make sure you ask for these 3 items after you have looked and bargained and wasted their time. Then they will be more willing to do this, especially the real estate agent who wasted their time. They can have a lot of influence over the landlord since these 3 things are NOT unreasonable.