Citizens visit a property developer's sales office in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, on March 4, 2023. Photo: VCG

Multiple cities in South China's Guangdong Province saw a rebound in commercial real estate in March, as pent-up demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being released following positive signs of national economic recovery, while neighboring Hong Kong and Macao residents rush to buy homes after borders reopen.

In March, sales of second-hand homes jumped 227.8 percent year-on-year to 4,943 units, hitting a monthly high in nearly two years, data released by the Shenzhen Real Estate Intermediary Association showed.

Last month, sales of newly completed homes in Huizhou city reached 9,400 units, up by about 70 percent month-on-month, according to real estate research center leyoujia.com.

"The increase in property transactions in Shenzhen and other cities in Guangdong is mainly due to the release of demand from Hong Kong and Macao residents after the reopening of borders in January, as local governments in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have announced a series of favorable policies to propel housing sales," said Song Ding, a research fellow at the Shenzhen-based China Development Institute.

Meanwhile, attracted by the Greater Bay Area's growth potential, many local residents and investors are buying homes in the region for value preservation and investment, he told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Since February, there have been many property agents promoting new apartments in the Greater Bay Area, and some even provide free bus tour for potential clients to go to cities like Dongguan and Zhuhai," a Hong Kong resident named Selina Pan told the Global Times.

Pan said she is considering buying a small apartment in Dongguan. "The housing price is attractive compared with that of Hong Kong. The integration of the Greater Bay Area makes commute between Dongguan and Hong Kong more convenient by taking the high-speed rail system," she said.

Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing in Guangdong are among the top 10 cities that reported the most property transactions in the first quarter, Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Domestic real estate market is reviving at a pace faster than expected," he said, noting that the property sector gradually enters recovery phase, thanks to the government's pro-growth policies and the improvement in home buyers' confidence.

According to the monitoring by the China Index Academy, over 100 cities and counties across the country have rolled out more than 170 policies to shore up the real estate market, whereas over 30 cities reduced mortgage rates for first home buyers to below 4 percent.

"However, the recovery of the housing sector will take some time, and the market is likely to experience periodic fluctuations before a full-fledged recovery, he said.

Global Times