Hong Kong has ranked as the most expensive housing market in the world and now the neighbouring Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen has joined it in the top-five priciest cities.

Home to telecoms maker Huawei and gaming and messaging company Tencent, Shenzhen came in fifth in CBRE’s Global Living 2019 report, its first appearance in the rankings with properties pricing at $680,283 on average. It joins Shanghai as the second mainland Chinese city in the top five. 

Shenzhen’s economy overtook that of Hong Kong for the first time in 2018, as the former British colony has failed to keep pace with its technology-focused neighbour. The Chinese city has seen rapid growth since its designation as a Special Economic Zone in the 1980s and now has a population of almost 13m.