Big rise in SAR commuters from Shenzhen, where the living is easier and cheaper

CHEAPER property prices and a lower cost of living - with savings on everything from dim sum to maids - are prompting a growing number of Hong Kong people to live on the mainland and commute to work.

More SAR residents have bought homes in Shenzhen in the past year than ever before, and they are living in the flats instead of treating them as holiday getaways or long-term investments, estate agents say.

Last year, 130,000 square metres of the border city's residential property was sold to foreign buyers, 90 per cent of whom were Hong Kong people, according to official statistics. That was double the volume of property sold to Hong Kong people in the previous year.

Terence Chong Chak-bo, a marketing manager for Centaline Property's Shenzhen branch, said between 30 and 40 per cent of the home buyers were living in the flats, compared with just 20 per cent in the past.

'It's due to a change in attitude and it's partly due to the handover,' Mr Chong said. 'People are getting to know the mainland better and they're feeling more comfortable with the idea of living there. They can watch Hong Kong television over there and shop in Wellcome and Park'N Shop.' Entire families, who used to live in Hong Kong, had moved to Shenzhen and were commuting to work or school each day, said Calvin Lau Chi-chung, project manager for Midland Realty.

'Many of these families cannot meet the downpayment in Hong Kong. They tend to work in the northern New Territories near the border, in places like Fo Tan, so it's quite convenient for them to live in Shenzhen,' Mr Lau said.