Shenzhen, mainland China’s hottest property market last year, has seen an 80 percent decline in home sales due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to Hong Kong brokerage Midland Realty.
Shenzen, commonly referred to as «China’s Silicon Valley», reported only 1,667 sales of lived-in homes last month, compared to 7,499 units and 10,000 units sold in January and December respectively, the brokerage’s research unit said.
«We expected that the policies favoring Shenzhen would lead to robust sales until April this year. But this has stopped abruptly because of the coronavirus [outbreak], and it is hard to see when the market will bottom out,» said Fion He, director of Midland Realty’s research unit.
Buyers From Hong Kong Dipped
The technology hub reported a boom in home sales after Beijing earmarked it in August last year as a new special economic zone. The total number of transactions rose by 30 percent between August and December, as buyers and investors betted on its future prospects. Since January, developers have had to shut their sales centers.
Home purchases by Hongkongers in Shenzhen were also minimal. «Less than 10 units were sold to Hong Kong buyers in February, as it is too troublesome for them to cross the border,» said Ma Qiaodong, a Shenzhen homeowner, who was quoted in «South China Morning Post»
Earmarked By Beijing
Buyers from the special administrative region doubled their purchases in the second half of last year, especially after Beijing cut red tape for homebuyers from Hong Kong and Macau in November, according to Midland Realty.
Meanwhile, market observers do not expect the same buzz in Shenzhen or other mainland Chinese cities when the countrywide lockdown eventually lifts. «The overexcitement has passed. Buyers who rushed to get properties before they got too expensive will now like to wait,» said Yan Yuejin, director of property research and data provider E-house China R&D Institute.
