AN 18-square-meter model flat will make its debut during the 32nd Shenzhen International Furniture Exhibition next month, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.

    The fully equipped model flat with a bedroom, a living room, a washroom and a kitchen will be able to accommodate two or three people. According to the report, such flats are expected to enter the market in Shenzhen when the right time comes.

    According to the city’s furniture association, professional audiences from across the country will vote for the best-designed apartment of the two 18-square-meter flats, which were designed by the association and a German design agency, respectively, during the exhibition. Four models will have a five-minute scenario simulation to show the details of daily life in the flats.

    According to anjuke.com, small apartments are in big demand in Shenzhen, with 70 percent of the new apartments sold in the city last month being between 60 and 90 square meters.

    Wang Feng, director of the city’s real estate research center, said small apartments are popular in big cities where housing prices are sky-high.

    He said that apartments in Hong Kong have an average size of 40 to 50 square meters, and Shenzhen’s policy ensures at least 70 percent of residential apartments in the city are smaller than 90 square meters, which will encourage the popularity of small low-priced flats in the city to meet the demand.

    Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd. owned by Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong real estate tycoon, has launched a batch of mini-flats in Hong Kong, with the smallest one as small as 16 square meters. There are also some 11.52-square-meter flats entering the market in Hong Kong this year, while each flat has an estimated price of HK$1.5 million (US$193,279).

    In Shenzhen, there are also some 18-square-meter mini flats listed for lease on some realty agency websites, according to the report. (Zhang Yang)