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SHENZHEN
Shenzhen is that prices have soared this year. Housing prices surged some
30 percent on average for the first three quarters of the year to 13,000
yuan (HK$13,634) per square meter. - 2007 November
Shenzhen Sees Sales of New Residential
Homes Drop 16% in Sept
Peak season for the property market in
this south China city neighbouring Hong Kong is usually in the autumn months
of September and October.
But this year the number of transactions
dropped sharply over that period, as banks tighten credit and the local
government prepares to issue a new policy trying to curb rising prices.
Sales of new residential homes dropped 16
per cent in September month-on-month to 302,400 square metres - a record low
for a single month of the year, according to the local housing management
authority.
That is nearly 30 per cent lower than the
more than 430,000 square metres sold last September.
The situation was even worse in October.
Daily transactions from October 1 to 9 plunged almost 80 per cent from
September to just 2,026 square metres. Sales dropped to less than 1,000
square metres from October 10 to 16, according to the housing management
authority.
"Micro-control policies have begun
working to cool down the overheated real estate market in Shenzhen,"
said Wang Feng, director of the Shenzhen Real Estate Research Center.
"Both investors and homebuyers are
taking a wait-and-see approach, and that's creating a stagnant market,"
he said.
But prices, which soared from an average
9,384 yuan (US$1,259) per square metre last year to 15,518 yuan in August,
are expected to remain high.
"We expect rocketing prices to ease
to a normal growth level when the seller's market gradually becomes a
buyer's market. But it's not realistic to think the market will crash and
prices tumble to the level of two or three years ago," Wang said.
Continued fast economic growth could prop
up the real estate market, which is vulnerable to other factors like housing
supply and economic integration in the region, including Hong Kong and other
Pearl River Delta cities.
Zhang Wei, a senior analyst with
Centaline Shenzhen, a Hong Kong-based real estate agent, expects housing
prices to drop 30 per cent from the peak over the next two years.
"The new mortgage policy isn't a
short-term one. It's a reflection of the government's push to regulate the
market," Zhang said.
While investors and speculators are under
greater financial pressure, homebuyers are also more cautious to enter the
market, anticipating a drop in housing prices, he said.
The People's Bank of China said in late
September that homebuyers must pay minimum mortgage down payments of 40 per
cent for their second residential properties. The mortgage interest rate for
second homes was also raised to 1.1 times the benchmark one-year lending
rate.
In Shenzhen, the local government will
soon launch a new second-hand housing evaluation system and will impose a 20
per cent income tax on transaction earnings based on the official evaluation
rather than the contract signed between agent and seller.
The government is trying to prevent
speculators from revising contracts to reduce personal income tax and
increase profit.
Homebuyers in the city are hopeful the
new policies will bring down prices.
Emily Wang, who just quit her job to have
a second baby, said she is waiting for housing prices to fall. "It's
too crowded for a six-person family to live in a two-room apartment, but we
can't afford a bigger one," she said.
"If new home prices drop to around
10,000 yuan, we would consider buying one - or we might seek an opportunity
in the second-hand market," she said.
Effie Zhang, a 27-year-old media strategy
planner, was lucky. She recently sold her 38 square metre apartment, which
had doubled in value since she bought it two years ago, and purchased a
second-hand three-bedroom apartment after she got married.
"Its value won't drop
dramatically given the economic boom and closer ties with Hong Kong. But
whether it rises or drops in value, it's a cosy home - good location, good
environment and it's convenient," Zhang said. -
2007 November 7 YAHOO!
HISTORICAL
Hong Kong residents spent 8.7 billion yuan
(HK$8.18 billion) buying housing on the mainland in the first nine months of
this year, up 24 per cent from a year earlier, as they took advantage of
prices akin to fire sales compared with the sky-high costs of Hong Kong
flats.
According to Land Power International Holdings, a
property brokerage, Shenzhen remained the most popular location for Hong
Kong investors.
Land Power chairman Michael Choi attributed the
surge to the territory's rebounding economy, opportunities afforded by the
Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa) between the territory and
China and optimism among Hong Kong investors about mainland property market
prospects.
``The implementation of Cepa, including
simplifying procedures for doing business on the mainland, has attracted
more Hong Kong people to do business there and brought more Hong Kong people
to work there as a result,'' Choi said.
Hong Kong people bought between 15,500 and 16,700
flats in the first three quarters, up 21 per cent from the same period last
year.
About 48 per cent of the total, or 7,500 to 8,000
units, were in Shenzhen, whose proximity to the territory and similar
lifestyles were a major attraction. Choi said 72 per cent of Hong Kong
buyers of homes in Shenzhen in the first three quarters said proximity was
their main consideration.
``Some 37 per cent said they needed to cross the
border once or twice a week while 21 per cent needed to go to Shenzhen three
or four times a week,'' he said.
Thirty-one per cent said they bought flats in
Shenzhen for work convenience and 27 per cent said it was for investment.
Twelve per cent of Hong Kong buyers in Shenzhen bought flats to use during
holidays and 3 per cent for retirement, down from 18 per cent and 5 per
cent, respectively, a year earlier.
Choi said the central government's efforts to rein
in property speculation had affected developers more than homebuyers.
``Property prices increased slowly and steadily in the first three
quarters,'' Choi said. ``Prices of good quality properties rose by 7-8 per
cent in Shenzhen, 8-9 per cent in Guangzhou, 7-8 per cent in Shanghai and
0-1 per cent in the Pearl River Delta,'' he said.
Choi expected prices of good quality properties in
Shenzhen to rise 9-10 per cent for the whole of this year while Shanghai
would see increases of 8-9 per cent and prices would rise 1-2 per cent in
the delta.
``With no more macroeconomic controls pending,
strong economic growth in China, continued strong demand from home and
overseas, as well as a healthy property development on the mainland, we
think the real estate market has a good outlook in the coming years,'' he
said.
He expected that for the whole of this year, Hong
Kong people would buy about 23,800 flats on the mainland, with total
spending amounting to some 12.9 billion yuan, up 15 per cent from last year.
Choi said 40 per cent of those who bought
properties in the first three quarters said they would consider buying
mainland properties again, with 84 per cent choosing Shenzhen. ``The buying
of homes will become a major trend because 73 per cent indicated they would
use them as their home if they bought properties in China again,'' he said .
- by Olivia Chung
HONG
KONG STANDARD 27 Oct 2004
Shenzhen's economy surged 17.8 per cent in the
first 11 months of the year from a year ago, driven by strong industrial
production and robust domestic and foreign investments.
From January to last month, gross domestic product
(GDP) in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was 245.13 billion yuan (HK$231.25
billion).
The growth rate was 3.8 percentage points higher
than in the previous corresponding period, vice-mayor Li Decheng told a
conference yesterday.
The breakneck growth was the highest among major
mainland cities, and outstripped Beijing's 10.1 per cent, Shanghai's 11.5
per cent and Guangzhou's 15 per cent.
The value of industry output in Shenzhen for the
11 months was 440.14 billion yuan, up 28.5 per cent from the same period
last year.
Domestic fixed investment rose 26.3 per cent to
82.26 billion yuan.
Overseas investment is also continuing to pour
into the border city with the number of new registered foreign firms
increasing by 27 this year to 1,457, while total foreign investment expanded
13 per cent to US$2.39 billion (HK$18.64 billion).
The five largest foreign investors in the SEZ are
Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, the United States, the Netherlands and
Japan, which together account for 85 per cent of total overseas investments.
Most investments from British Virgin Islands
originate from Taiwan, which gets around Taipei's ceiling on mainland-bound
investments, according to observers.
Reflecting the robust economic development,
Shenzhen ports - including Yantian, Shekou and Chiwan - handled 9.67 million
twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) between January and last month, a
year-on-year increase of 40 per cent.
Shenzhen became the fourth busiest port in the
world in October.
Shenzhen's Baoan international airport had handled
10 million passengers this year to Wednesday, making it one of only four
airports on the mainland handling more than 10 million passengers annually.
The three others are Beijing's Capital Airports, Shanghai's Pudong airport
and Guangzhou's Baiyun airport. The number of passengers using Baoan airport
is expected to increase by one million a year for the next five years.
Shenzhen Baoan International Airport Group general
manager Chen Hong said the airport was considering building a second runway
after 2008, when handling capacity was expected to reach saturation point.
- Pamela Pun Hong
Kong Standard 13 December 2003
HK plans
exhibition centre in border zone
Hongkong may build an exhibition complex
on its border with China to allow Chinese businessmen to meet foreign
investors, a report said yesterday.
The Hongkong Trade Development Council
has been asked to conduct a feasibility study on the proposed exhibition and
convention complex in a designated 96-ha 'special zone' on the border with
the southern city of Shenzhen, the Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily said.
The centre, which would be between the
Lok Ma Chau and Huanggang checkpoints, would provide foreign investors with
an opportunity to meet mainland businessmen.
The Chinese businessmen would enter the
complex on Hongkong-issued special permits which would not give them access
to Hongkong, the paper said, citing unidentified sources.
Businesses from all the mainland
provinces would be allowed to set up permanent offices at the complex, which
will feature exhibition halls, offices, hotels and retail and entertainment
facilities, it said.
Separately, the Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po
said in a report that Shenzhen authorities were considering building four
satellite towns to link with Hongkong to help boost economic integration
between the two areas.
Shenzhen mayor Yu Youjun was quoted as
saying that Hongkong's resources and its functions would play an important
part in Shenzhen's town planning.
He added that a sound coordination
mechanism must be established for Shenzhen and Hongkong, as well as the rest
of the Pearl River Delta, to avoid wasting resources through competition
with each other.
Hongkong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa
called for closer economic cooperation with China in his policy address last
month, with integration between Hongkong and the Pearl River Delta the main
strategy to reinvigorate the sluggish economy.
The government is reportedly pushing the
greater Pearl River Delta concept and has suggested the establishment of a
regional economic system similar to that of the European Union.
The scheme involves the Hongkong
and Guangdong governments first boosting interaction between their residents
and then introducing a tax-free trading system to promote the flow of
people, goods, capital and information.
-AFP Singapore Straits
Times 6 Feb 2003
Commuters drive up Shenzhen house
prices
Shenzhen home prices doubled in the past
decade and may keep rising as the commute between Hong Kong and its closest
mainland neighbour gets faster and easier.
Bank of East Asia and other Hong Kong
banks have increased mortgage lending in Shenzhen where Hutchison Whampoa is
among the several developers building more homes.
They are betting on growing demand from
Hong Kong, where property prices remain twice those of Shenzhen even after a
five-year slump has slashed SAR home values by 60 per cent.
The sweetener is that one of two border
crossings between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be opened 24 hours a day,
starting on January 27, for the thousands of people who make the daily
commute.
DTZ Debenham Tie Leung research director
Alva To said: "Shenzhen is the obvious choice because it takes less
than an hour from the city centre to get across the border.
"Home prices are so much cheaper,
and the cost of living is much lower too."
Colliers International said homes in Yuen
Long, near the Lok Ma Chau border crossing which will be operated around the
clock, cost about HK$1,500 a square foot, compared with 745 yuan (about
HK$701.1) for similar properties in Shenzhen.
Bank of East Asia and other Hong Kong
lenders offer incentive packages to city residents buying property on the
mainland, aiming to offset slumping mortgage business at home, where about
70,000 homeowners are in negative equity - owing more than their properties
are worth. An estimated 300,000 Hong Kong residents live in Shenzhen, which
has a population of about four million.
Hong Kong bank lending to investors
buying mainland homes almost tripled in September to HK$333 million.
Outstanding loans taken out on mainland
properties amounted to HK$6.2 billion at the end of September, the Hong Kong
Monetary Authority said.
That compared with HK$535.3 billion
outstanding on Hong Kong mortgages.
Bank of East Asia China property-lending
department head Wendy Wong said: "We are seeing a rebound in the cycle
of Hong Kong people buying properties in China in the past two years after
property prices in the mainland slumped during the Asian financial crisis in
1997-98."
The bank began its mainland home-loan
business in 1988.
Hong Kong developers also are hunting for
growth across the border.
Seven development companies in the Hang
Seng Property Index collectively reported net income fell 40 per cent to
HK$21.8 billion in their most recent financial years, as they wrote down the
value of their property holdings.
In the third quarter, China Overseas Land
& Investment, China Vanke, Hutchison Whampoa and other developers were
offering about 33,000 homes in Shenzhen.
Tycoon Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa is
developing five million sq ft of residential space at its Le Parc project in
Shenzhen's Futian district, across from Lok Ma Chau and the busier Lo Wu
border posts.
China Overseas Land, the mainland
Construction Ministry's Hong Kong property arm, is building 1.4 million sq
ft of homes at its Shenzhen Bay Garden in the Nanshan district, to the east
of Futian.
Sun Hung Kai Properties, New World
Development and Henderson Land Development are among developers holding the
most land in Hong Kong's outer suburbs.
They may need to slow the pace of their
developments and cut prices to compete, analysts said.
Henderson Land, Hong Kong's
second-biggest developer by sales, has about 279,000 square metres of
housing for sale in Yuen Long and other parts of the New Territories. Shares
in Henderson Land have declined 8 per cent since the announcement on
December 11 of the 24-hour border crossing facility.
Shares in Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong
Kong's biggest developer, have fallen about 6 per cent since the
announcement.
The company offered cash rebates of
as much as 20 per cent on mortgages to home buyers at its New Territories
projects, including the Aegean Coast complex, in Tuen Mun, and Park Central
along the new Tseung Kwan O subway line. -
Bloomberg 30 Dec 2002
Shenzhen home
prices up as HK commute eases
One border crossing to be opened 24 hours from Jan 27
Shenzhen home prices doubled the past
decade and may keep rising as the commute between Hong Kong and its closest
Chinese neighbour gets faster and easier.
Bank of East Asia Ltd and other Hong Kong
banks have increased mortgage lending in Shenzhen. Hutchison Whampoa
Ltd is among several developers building more homes across the border.
They are betting on growing demand from
Hong Kong, where property prices remain twice those of Shenzhen even after a
five- year slump has slashed home values 60 per cent. The sweetener: one of
two border crossings between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be opened 24 hours
a day, starting on Jan 27, for the thousands of people who travel by bus and
train to and from China.
'Shenzhen is the obvious choice because
it takes less than an hour from the city centre to get across the border,'
said Alva To, research director at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung Ltd. 'Home prices
are so much cheaper, and the cost of living is much lower too.'
Homes in Yuen Long, a Hong Kong suburb
near the Lok Ma Chau border crossing that will be operated around the clock,
cost about HK$1,500 (S$334) a square foot, compared with 745 yuan (S$156)
for similar flats in Shenzhen, according to Colliers International.
Bank of East Asia and other Hong Kong
lenders offer incentive packages to city residents buying property on the
mainland, aiming to offset slumping mortgage business at home, where about
70,000 homeowners owe more than their properties are worth. An estimated
300,000 Hong Kong residents live in Shenzhen, which has a population of
about 4 million.
Hong Kong bank lending to investors
buying homes in China almost tripled in September to HK$333 million.
Outstanding loans for properties
purchased in China amounted to HK$6.2 billion at the end of September, the
Hong Kong Monetary Authority said. That compares with HK$535.3 billion in
Hong Kong mortgages.
'We are seeing a rebound in the cycle of
Hong Kong people buying properties in China in the past two years after
property prices in the mainland slumped during the Asian financial crisis in
1997-98,' said Wendy Wong, head of the China property-lending department at
Bank of East Asia. The bank started its China home loan business in 1988.
Hong Kong developers also are hunting for
growth across the border. Seven development companies in the Hang Seng
Property Index collectively reported net income fell 40 per cent to HK$21.8
billion in their most recent financial years, as they wrote down the value
of their property holdings.
In the third quarter, China Overseas Land
& Investment Ltd, China Vanke Co, Hutchison Whampoa and other developers
offered about 33,000 homes in Shenzhen.
Hutchison Whampoa, owned by billionaire Li
Ka-shing, is developing 5 million sq ft (264,000 sq m) of residential
space at its Le Parc project in Shenzhen's Futian district, across from Lok
Ma Chau and the busier Lo Wu border posts.
China Overseas Land, the Hong Kong
property arm of China's construction ministry, is building 1.4 million sq ft
of homes at its Shenzhen Bay Garden in the Nanshan district, to the east of
Futian.
Henderson Land Development Co, New World
Development Co and Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd are among the developers with
the most land in Hong Kong's outer suburbs. They may need to slow the pace
of their developments and cut prices to compete, analysts said.
Henderson Land, Hong Kong's
second-biggest developer by sales, has about 279,000 sq m of housing for
sale in Yuen Long and other parts of the New Territories.
- Bloomberg Singapore
Business Times
Hong Kong's love affair with Shenzhen's
high-rise flats has underpinned a continued price climb.
Prices for new high-rise homes - the
category most favoured by Hong Kong buyers - rose 3.4 per cent in the first
quarter against the same period last year, while overall they were up 1.7
per cent.
It is estimated that Hong Kong buyers
will have spent 4.46 billion yuan (HK$4.21 billion) on mainland property by
the end of June, with Shenzhen the major attraction.
Hong Kong buyers generally use Shenzhen
properties as either investments or holiday retreats, but more people are
making their homes there and commuting across the border to work.
A survey by property agency Land Power
revealed cross-border buyers bought up to 1,900 homes in Shenzhen in the
first quarter, representing 47 per cent of mainland homes purchased by SAR
buyers.
However, a survey by the Shenzhen
government's statistical bureau showed the market for more expensive villas
and luxury apartments remained weak, declining 0.9 per cent.
Overall, prices rose just 1.1 per cent in
the first quarter over the final quarter of last year, reflecting a flat
market in 2001.
Figures released by the statistical
bureau showed mid-range flats in Shenzhen sold for less than 1,000 yuan per
square foot.
The market for second-hand flats had
continued to fall but there were signs the decline was easing, the bureau
said.
First-quarter prices fell 2.7 per cent
year on year and the decrease compared with the final quarter of last year
was 1.1 per cent.
A huge amount of unoccupied residential
space is helping to depress the second-hand market.
More than 10.7 million sq ft of housing
remained unoccupied by the end of last year.
In the first quarter of the year, rentals
of offices, industrial buildings and shops rose less than 1 per cent.
During that time the disposable income of
Shenzhen residents increased by 13.2 per cent over the corresponding period
in 2001. On average, disposable income per capita in Shenzhen reached 7,866
yuan in the first quarter - or 2,622.08 yuan a month - according to city
statistics.
Salaries for the first quarter averaged
13,304 yuan, or 4,345 yuan a month, an increase of 15 per cent over the
corresponding period last year.
Consumption in the first quarter
also grew 19.6 per cent to an average 5,328.65 yuan, or 1,776.22 yuan per
month. - By Wu Zhong
iMail.com 25 April 2002
SHENZHEN
RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
Name: Portofino
Developer: Overseas
Chinese Town
This development covers a total area of 12 million square feet (1.08 million
square metres) in southern China. The developer--a company which also runs
theme parks in Shenzhen and other Chinese cities--has attempted to reproduce
the "exotic chic" of Portofino in Italy through the layout and
design of the site. There is a variety of different units available,
including detached houses, townhouses and family houses with gardens.
NAME: Wonderland
DEVELOPER: Shenzhen Vanke
Intended as a model for urban, sustainable development, the site has been
designed in conjunction with MIT researchers. Energy-saving technology has
been included in apartment buildings, which have high levels of north-south
exposure for increased shade. Buildings are staggered and the edges
perforated to allow for natural airflow ventilation. Different grades of
units are clustered together to increase a sense of community.
NAME:
Le Parc
DEVELOPER: Hutchison
Whampoa
Occupying a 156,000-square-metre site in the suburb of Futian, Le Parc will
be a residential development in four phases, consisting of 28 towers with
approximately 4,000 units. Le Parc Phase 1 has six 21-27 storey high-rises
and two eight-storey apartment towers. The Shenzhen subway system, scheduled
for completion in 2003-04, will provide a direct connection to the Hong Kong
KCR West Rail. Full club facilities are available, as well as schools.
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