Hongkongers eye deals in Greater Bay Area city Zhongshan, turn to the internet to buy property
- Coronavirus pandemic is an ‘opportunity to buy’, as prices will rebound when it is contained, buyer says
- Hong Kong investors spent about 40 billion yuan on homes in the development zone last year, an increase of 300 per cent over 2018
Property investors from Hong Kong are not letting coronavirus social distancing measures and closed borders get in the way of a promising deal in the Greater Bay Area development zone.
Aiko Lo, in her mid 30s, and her husband recently bought a holiday home in Zhongshan, one of the nine mainland Chinese cities included in the zone, without leaving Hong Kong.
Held back by the coronavirus pandemic initially, they decided to explore new projects on the internet while stuck at home. Last month, they finally bought a 1,200 sq ft unit in Times Xianghai Bian, which has been built by Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese developer Times China, online for HK$1.5 million (US$193,538) at the office of V+ Property, a small agency in Lai Chi Kok, in Kowloon.
“We saw the health crisis is an opportunity to buy, as prices will rebound when the coronavirus is contained,” Lo said.
Hong Kong investors spent about 40 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion) on homes in the development zone last year, an increase of 300 per cent from the 10 billion yuan they spent in 2018, according to Andy Lee Yiu-chi, the chief executive for southern China at Centaline Property Agency. Meanwhile, Zhongshan’s home prices have fallen by about 15 per cent from a peak in August 2018 according to the property agency’s Greater Bay price index. Interest in Greater Bay Area property will only rise once the pandemic is contained, analysts said.
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“We have sold 100 units every month since launching online sales in May,” said Stephen Sum, an investment consultant at V+ Property.
