AS residential property prices surge, a rising number of Hong Kong investors are showing an interest in commercial property at Shenzhen’s Metro stations, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.
More than 100 Hong Kong investors attended a recent Metro property promotional seminar in Futian District, looking to invest in shops at the Chegong Temple Station, the newspaper quoted the seminar organizer as saying.
The investors run businesses in Hong Kong, including restaurants and retail shops. It was the largest group of Hong Kong investors to have visited Shenzhen this year, according to Guo Yinglong, an executive director of Midland Realty.
“Hong Kong investors know the value of commercial properties at metro stations because business is thriving at subway stations in Hong Kong,” the newspaper said, quoting a Hong Kong citizen surnamed Chen, who has lived in Luohu District for some years.
The risk of investment in residential property has risen as Shenzhen housing prices soared by about 40 percent in the past six months. Many investors were opting for commercial property to hedge risks.
Sales of commercial property in Shenzhen soared 27.58 percent in June to 14,500 square meters, according to a monthly research report by Midland Realty.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong investors bought more than 4,000 apartments in Shenzhen in the first half of this year, up 25 percent from a year ago, according to the latest research report issued by a Hong Kong real estate agency, Land Power International.
The number of Shenzhen apartments purchased by Hong Kong homebuyers was expect to reach 7,800 or more by the end of this year, up 39 percent from last year, the report said.
“Shenzhen’s housing prices will continue to rise later this year, helped by loose credit,” said Jiang Shurong, a Midland Realty manager.(Claudia Wei)