Demand for mini-flats on the rise in China

Hong Kong

TINY is the new big for Chinese property buyers who are snapping up smaller, more affordable apartments as property prices in big, busy cities rise, fuelled by scarce land and a surge in demand due to lower borrowing costs.

The studio flats commonplace in New York, Paris or London - as well as in space-starved Asian cities like Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo - remain a novelty in China, where larger units are still the most sought after.

But as real estate prices continue to rise in more developed cities, demand for units smaller than 50 square metres (538 square feet) is also rising, enticing China Vanke Co Ltd and Evergrande Real Estate Group - China's two biggest developers by sales - to develop some mini-flats, a sector t…