A TOTAL of 620 apartments in a new housing estate in Pingshan New Area sold in less than three hours during the May Day holidays. The average price at the real estate was 15,000 yuan (US$2,416) per square meter, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

    “The new property market will heat up as pre-owned apartment sales continue to boom in the coming month,” said Wang Fei with Centaline Property Group.

    A couple went to the housing estate sales center in the early morning hoping to buy a larger apartment after recently having a baby. They were among hundreds of buyers at the center who wanted to snap up the apartments.

    Many Hongkongers are also buying property in Shenzhen as the cost in Hong Kong is out of reach for most people.

    Since the end of March, the number of Hong Kong homebuyers paying visits to Shenzhen has tripled when compared with 2014. Most Hong Kong buyers prefer properties in Shenzhen developed by Hong Kong-based developers and located near checkpoints or along the Longhua Metro Line, which is connected with Futian Checkpoint.

    On Friday, three new housing estates began selling apartments. The new complexes are located in the Qianhai area, Longgang District and Pingshan New Area and are developed by Excellence Group, Lingheng Investment and Kingkey Group, respectively.

    In May, 45 new housing estates will start sales citywide including 21 projects in Longgang District, 10 projects in Nanshan District and eight in Bao’an District. (Luo Songsong)