RESIDENTS of Hong Kong have purchased around 4% of pre-owned homes sold in Shenzhen from January to July, thanks to easier travel between the two southern cities and the implementation of several favorable policies this year. With the integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the deep connection between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, it will become increasingly common to buy property in one city and work or start a business in the other, Securities Times reported Tuesday, quoting Zou Shaowei, a senior researcher at the Shenzhen Centaline Research Center as saying after the release of the pre-owned homes data. Hong Kong and Macao residents’ demand for homes in the Chinese mainland has increased thanks to significant transportation improvements within the Greater Bay Area. Support policies have also addressed their 1.5 billion yuan (US$210 million) financial needs to buy such houses, according to data previously released by the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch. Several real estate agency managers in the Renminnan area of Luohu District have seen a surge in inquiries from Hong Kong customers since the beginning of this year, with rental prices also rebounding. “It takes only 20 minutes by car from my home to reach the Liantang port in Shenzhen. For just over 3 million yuan, you can buy a fairly large, fully furnished three-bedroom apartment in Shenzhen or a very small, one to two-bedroom flat in the north of Hong Kong,” said a traveler from Hong Kong’s Sheung Shui, as quoted by yicai.com. Customers from Hong Kong bought around 10% of properties sold this year, a sales manager in Yantian District pointed out. With the completion of the mega cross-sea bridges Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the opening of the Greater Bay Area Metro Line 1 in Guangdong, and other transport improvements, traveling within the region has significantly eased, said Yang Yongjun, research director at the South China branch of the China Index Academy. (SD-Agencies) | 