Can China’s Greater Bay Area offer relief to Hong Kong’s housing woes?

In a new series delving beyond the social unrest in Hong Kong to survey the city’s deep-rooted problems, the Post is focusing on the role of housing in causing great disaffection in society

In this instalment, we examine the role of China’s Greater Bay Area, and whether moving to mainland China is a viable option for Hongkongers

Reading Time:7 minutes

The Greater Bay Area now has a combined gross domestic product of US$1.34 trillion and a population of 68 million and the plan calls for it to grow and overtake similar economic zones, such as the San Francisco Bay Area or the Greater Tokyo Area, in coming decades. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Cissy Zhouin Hong KongandHe Huifengin Guangdong

Published: 6:00am, 3 Oct 2019Updated: 12:38pm, 7 Oct 2019

Rising property prices and lack of affordable housing have Hong Kong residents exploring the wider Greater Bay Area for their next property investment, either for a holiday home or a place to retire to, although it remains to be seen if China’s development plan can play an indirect part in easing the city’s housing crisis.

Property agents claim that they have noticed an increase in cross-border property investments since the release of the Greater Bay Area development plan earlier this year, which followed a change in China’s immigration laws last year that meant eligible Hong Kong residents could now choose to live as well as work in mainland China without the need for additional visas or approvals.

That change removed at least one of the obstacles for people looking for more affordable housing alternatives. But many obstacles remain, including access to quality health care, which is particularly important for the growing elderly community in Hong Kong that are considering mainland China as an option for their retirement. Questions of quality aside, most would not be eligible for the Chinese state system, having not contributed to it.

Jackson Ip, 60, bought a 560 sq ft flat for HK$2.5 million in Hong Kong soon after the handover in 1997, and it is now worth around three times that.

I don’t mind living in a relatively small flat. Hong Kong is my home and all my friends are here

Jackson Ip

“I don’t mind living in a relatively small flat. Hong Kong is my home and all my friends are here,” said Ip, who has never lived in mainland China but has viewed several properties in multiple cities in the Greater Bay Area in recent years.

He added that he has been concerned about water and food safety across the border. He has not bought a property in mainland China because of doubts about the return on his investment due to “an oversupply of flats”.