Influencers sought to sell Cambridge homes in China

An estate agent is seeking "tech-savvy" Chinese students to sell UK properties to buyers in China and Hong Kong.

Pure Living has erected a poster in its Cambridge shopfront, written in Mandarin, looking for help using the social media platforms WeChat and Xiaohongshu to advertise homes in the city.

Ray Yu, the company's co-owner, said one housing development was so popular with customers in East Asia it was known as "mini-China".

Yu said Pure Living did "careful due diligence", including money laundering checks.

Pure Living was founded in 2019 as pro-democracy protests engulfed Hong Kong.

"There was a mass exodus and a lot of people moved from Hong Kong to the UK, which did help our business," Yu said.

According to Yu, who was born in Cambridge but spent two decades living in Hong Kong, "people feel their money is safe in the UK, and yields are fairly high compared to other countries".

He said Cambridge was attractive to buyers because of low crime rates, proximity to London, and good schools.

During their busiest periods, Yu, 40, said they "would shift 15-20 homes a month to buyers" living overseas.

Pure Living is now "exploring whether the mainland China market would be interested, because there's always there's always interest in UK property".

Yu wants to use Chinese social media to attract buyers, some of whom he says will be using the property as investments or student housing.

"I have limited knowledge of these apps so if we could find someone living in Cambridge, but has knowledge of these social media platforms then I think that will help in terms of marketing," he said.

Yu has put a poster in his shopfront, hoping to attract a Mandarin speaker living in the city who can entice buyers in mainland China to buy properties in Cambridge.

"They'll probably be looking at new builds because it's easy to manage and there's not a lot to handle."

According to Yu, properties in Cambridge have already proven popular with Chinese customers, including the Marleigh Park development by the city's airport.

"I think some people refer to that as a mini-Hong Kong or mini-China," he said, adding that developments in Trumpington and Eddington were also sought after.

The government plans to build 150,000 new homes in the Greater Cambridge area by 2050.

Elliot Tong, a Green representative on Cambridge City Council, said: "Homes should be for people, not investment portfolios.

"The problem isn't where a buyer comes from, it's property speculators pricing out working families."

Asked if selling to foreign buyers would price out locals, Yu said: "We do understand there is a shortage in terms of supply but I mean properties are on the market for some time.

"There are opportunities for any buyer, whether local or overseas, to buy so I personally I don't think prices are because the property is being snapped up by overseas buyers."

The estate agent said increase in building costs since Covid-19 had had a bigger impact on prices than foreign purchases, adding that if rules said a property was only for residential purposes he would "not market it as an investment opportunity".

"Although we've sold properties to overseas investors in Cambridge, predominantly it will be for self-residential," he said.

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.