by Christopher Cottrell Property agent Michelle Lei rings the doorbell for the third time.  She then takes out her mobile phone and calls the owner. There’s no answer. Its lunch-time. She asks, “Can you come back in an hour?” In a bustling property market like the beachfront blocks in Zhuhai’s Jida district, it’s worth the wait. After all, this is no ordinary property market. For all intents and purposes, this may as well be a northern neighbourhood of Macau. Its arguably going to blossom as 10,000 to 18,000 apartment units open up in the next year with the capacity to bring in as many as 30,000 to 60,000 more people into the five-block neighbourhood between the Jiuzhou Port, Jiuzhou Avenue and Lover’s Land Central. “Many, many Macau people are moving here, and into Gongbei,” comments Zhongyong Feng, a property consultant with Dowinner Real-Estate. “You can call it ‘little Macau’, but there are no Portuguese restaurants,” he says. Moreover, property is at a premium and raring to go. Two years ago, property prices averaged RMB 5,000 to 6,000 per sqm in the Jida area of Zhuhai, which is just 15 minutes by taxi from the Gongbei border. Last year, as Macau’s casino fuelled furore roared, prices in this area nearly doubled, says Cherry Huang, an executive with Zhuhai Shi-Hua Real Estate Agency. “Now prices average RMB 12,000 per square metre.” That’s for ocean view buys. The cost per square metre for non-ocean view apartments still hovers in the RMB 8,000 to 10,000 range in Jida. Of course, that applies to properties that are still open— three of the six major suburban sky-scraper apartments now rising on Jida’s coastal area are sold-out. One of them, the Grand Panorama, consists of over 3,000 units in four towers. The current price per sq metre in this complex averages RMB 13,000. When completed later this year, the project will also feature a massive community swimming pool with ocean views, and a bevy of boutique shops and restaurants. It’s just a five-minute taxi ride to the Jiu Zhou Ferry Port to Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Comments Grand Panorama agent Rita Fei, “Everything sold out last year. But you can try to buy from the owners.” The same real-estate saga holds true just two blocks to the east at the Golden Times Square apartments.  They too sold out last year with prices per square metre benchmarking at RMB 12,000, explains Jolene Li, a Golden Times Square agent. Currently, most of the flats at Golden Times are being decorated with less than a handful of people inhabiting them. The ground floors are barren concrete caverns that await a shopping court and McDonalds. The same might be said for the overall makeup of this section of Jida: compared with other areas of Zhuhai, this coastal neighbourhood is just starting to get off the ground. Sure, the Hai Bin Gardens properties, which Ms. Lei of Huafa Real-Estate represents, have been open for a few years. The property resides in the traditional resort district, which is home to the International Conference Centre, Harbour View Hotel and Zobon Business Hotel. Its ringed with tiny Chinese restaurants that cater to travellers who are visiting the nearby statue of the Fishing Girl, the city’s legendary symbol.Further to the west, Jida consists of a slew of residential buildings, seafood restaurants and a giant duty free shopping mall. What makes the newer area attractive to live in? Future potential. Explains Paul James, a retired Canadian, “This area doesn’t have a lot of things to do in it like other parts of Zhuhai, but more restaurants and bars will open as more people move here.” James, who just purchased a 100 sqm, two-bedroom apartment with a view of the Jiu Zhou Port, remarks, “It’s a good location to the ferry to Hong Kong and real close to the border with Macau.”Indeed, that’s another one of Jida’s advantages—it is equidistant to the bustling Gongbei area to the south and the posh golf courses along Xiangzhou Bay to the north. The port puts it within one hour to either Shenzhen or Hong Kong and 15 minutes by taxi to the Macau border. That being said, time is ticking. Prices in the Gongbei area will continue to rise moving more people into Jida, explains Liu Lei, an agent with Zhuhai Huaju Real-Estate Agency. “In Gongbei, ocean view apartments now cost from RMB 16,000 to 20,000 [per sqm].” Others contend that’s on the high end of the scale. Comments Centaline China property consultant Carry Wang, “Gongbei is going for 12,000 to 13,000 per square metre. Its cheaper in Jida at around 10,000 and even lower to the north in Xiangzhou around 8,000 per square metre.” These prices are for ocean view apartments averaging 100 sqm with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Unlike Gongbei’s combination of rock-bottom shopping options, border bustle, bar streets and ocean views of the Sands Macao at night, Xiangzhou is far more subdued. Apart from hosting the Zhuhai municipal government, it features several botanical gardens, such as the Agriculture Science Garden. Its also just a 10 minute drive away from both the Zhuhai Lakewood Golf Club and the ocean facing Zhuhai Golf Club. The Zhuhai International Circuit for auto racing is nearby, along with the Dragon Opera House. What this all boils down to is this: one of Zhuhai’s most strategic areas for living is starting to see owner and renters move in. Jida’s coastal nights are just starting to light up.