Zhang Xiaoyi

    417880236@qq.com

    SHENZHEN’S Nanshan and Futian districts are the first and second choices of foreigners renting in Shenzhen, according to a report by Centaline Group, a Hong Kong-based real estate broker.

    In general, transactions and renting of used homes by expatriates through Centaline’s Shenzhen outlets slid between August 2014 and August 2015, the report said.

    All percentages in the report are based on property trading records in Centaline’s second-hand property market. Centaline did not provide the original numbers on which the percentages are calculated.

    The renting data in August 2015 was singled out specifically to highlight foreign residents’ preference for certain locations in Shenzhen.

    It showed the first choice of expatriates is Nanshan District, attracting 30 percent of them, followed by Futian at 22 percent and Luohu at 17 percent. Bao’an ranked fourth at 13 percent.

    The report said most foreigners chose to rent in Qianhai and Shekou in Nanshan. OCT also appealed to the foreign community.

    Zheng with Centaline said among the expatriates who rented houses in Nanshan in August 2015, 14 percent, 28 percent and 17 percent chose to reside at Qianhai, Shekou and OCT, respectively.

    In Futian District, the report said 50 percent of foreign renters chose to reside in the Huangting, Xiangmihu and CBD areas. Centaline said Futian is rich in educational resources and popular with foreign teachers. Convenient transportation also ranked highly.

    According to Centaline, Bao’an saw a rise of 3 percent in second-hand house renting in August compared with last year. Most of the foreign renters live in Shajing, which has industrial zones and joint ventures.

    The report showed 51 percent of expatriates rented apartments that are between 60 and 90 square meters in August 2015. Apartments between 90 and 120 square meters are their second choice, with 16 percent of foreign renters choosing that size. Only 14.3 percent chose to say in apartments that are smaller than 45 square meters.

    The report said foreigners made up 7.6 percent of all the renters at Centaline, Shenzhen, by August 2015, a drop from the 9 percent by August 2014. The number of foreign home purchasers by August 2014 was 5.3 percent while the figure was 3.8 percent by August this year. The sliding trend, according to Centaline, is the result of yuan devaluation and the capital flowing from China to overseas markets.

    In August, six ministries, including housing and urban-rural development ministry as well as the commerce ministry, announced the ten-year-old restriction on foreign individuals and firms buying real estate was lifted.