Finding a villa to rent is a really tough job here in Qingdao. Most Villas are old and laid out quite badly, with small kitchens and bathrooms. For example, you’ll see a 400sqm villa with a kitchen of about 6sqm.  Also, maintenance is another factor. A lot of people who have bought villas in the past have never really paid much attention to maintaining them over the years. In addition, there is the matter of security. Unless you want to invest in guard dogs, you should only rent a villa within a secure complex, which of course, further restricts your choice.
Rents for decent villas usually run into the tens of thousands per month, definitely not cheap, but because of the short supply, owners of well maintained villas know they have a rarity on their hands. Also, there aren’t any new villas being built, so in the near future, prices should remain high and will probably increase further.