Housing prices in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boomtown neighboring Hong Kong, have risen 46% since the beginning of last year， by far the most among all major Chinese cities according to the Wall Street Journal. The surge came despite a slowing Chinese economy.
China's housing prices have staged a mild recovery with gains focused mainly on the biggest cities. But even compared with other so-called first-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Shenzhen is a remarkable outlier. Shanghai’s housing prices only rose 16% since January last year. For Beijing, the gain is 10%.
Image: bwpi
In 2014, the Chinese government loosened restrictions on mortgages, helping Shenzhen bloom. A growing technology industry, limited supply and less-stringent buying restrictions have also driven buyers to the city. Now, in terms of unaffordability, Shenzhen tops Hong Kong – one of the world’s priciest housing markets. Shenzhen’s housing prices were 20 times average disposable income in 2014, and is likely in the high 20s today, according to E-House China R&D Institute data cited by the Journal. Meanwhile, prices in Hong Kong were 19 times average disposable income, according to research firm Demographia.
