THE number of Hong Kong residents crossing the border to buy properties in Shenzhen has increased at least 40 percent in recent months.
The surge follows a number of tightening measures the SAR government introduced to curb skyrocketing housing prices, Chinese-language media reported.
About 30 percent of property buyers in neighborhoods close to the checkpoints are Hong Kong buyers, up 40 percent from the first half of this year, said Gong Sieu-gi, general manager of Midland Realty s Shenzhen operation.
Gong said the number of Hong Kong buyers at upmarket housing estates had also increased rapidly, after the Hong Kong government imposed a new special stamp tax which will levy up to 15 percent of the total value of a property.
The number is expected to increase even faster in the coming weeks, said Gong, a Hong Konger who has worked in Shenzhen for more than 10 years.
Gong said even more buyers would have crossed the border if the Chinese Government had not introduced a new policy to limit home purchases.
The number of Hong Kong residents willing to buy properties in Shenzhen had reached a historical peak, said Lee Yiu-chi, general manager of Centaline Property.
The Hong Kong dollar has weakened as the yuan has risen, meaning an increasing number of Hong Kongers are converting their Hong Kong-dollar assets into yuan assets, according to Lee.
Every HK$100 (US$13) used to convert into 120 yuan (US$18) but now it is worth only about 85 yuan, said Lee, who came from Hong Kong to work in Shenzhen 10 years ago. It is a common practice for Hong Kongers to invest in yuan assets to guard against depreciation.
Figures from a real estate consulting firm showed that home prices in Hong Kong have risen 22 percent in the past year, surpassing Tokyo to be the most expensive city in Asia. Housing prices in Tokyo fell by nearly 7 percent in the past year to 114,000 yuan per square meter on average, while the average home price in Hong Kong is now 134,000 yuan per square meter. (SD News)
