More than 10,000 Hong Kong residents have bought real estate in Beijing, most for investment, local media reported Sunday.

The report said the property market in Beijing has kept "heated" for years because of the Olympic Games scheduled to be held in the capital city in 2008.

Since 2002, many Hong Kong residents who are employed in Beijing have started to buy real estate. They preferred luxury houses in the beginning, but now, they'd rather buy mediocre apartments at an average price around 10,000 yuan (1,235 US dollars) per square meter.

Commercial centers in the east, hi-technical centers at Zhongguancun and embassy areas are atop their list for purchasing real estate, the report said.

Among those who have bought properties in Beijing, some are representatives for international corporations or Hong Kong enterprises, and some stay there for their own business when their contracts with those companies were over. They all regard Beijing as a base for long-term development.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2005)