(Yicai Global) Jan. 20 -- Rental housing has become more affordable in southeastern China's tech hub Shenzhen where rents had been growing rapidly over the past few years as more property enters the market.

Last year, rents fell 5.5 percent to CNY72 (USD11.40) per square meter per month from a year ago, the lowest level since June 2017, according to statistics from Shenzhen Centaline Property Research Center.

Rents will continue to fall as the city's housing supply is increasing, Li Yujia at the Guangdong Housing Policy Research Center said in an interview with Yicai Global. That involves a shift as before this rents were rising quickly over past years, Li added.

Limited demand matched with higher supply has caused the drop, said Song Ding, deputy director of the China Expert Committee of Urban Economy. Shenzhen has been increasing its rental housing supply and supporting policies in recent years, Song added.

Between 2014 and 2018, Shenzhen's rents rose steadily around CNY5 (79 US cents) per year, according to statistics from Leyoujia Research Center. Over those five years, rents jumped 37 percent to CNY70 in 2018.

The force that was driving the hikes has disappeared in recent years because the city has tightened its household registration policies, which has limited its inflows of residents coming from other regions, said Song.

However, some tenants may beg to differ. Old houses that have no geographical advantages have room for bargaining but relatively new homes in good locations are still expensive, Yicai Global learned.

Most houses have the same rents as they did for the past two years, said a property agent in Shenzhen's Futian district. Just those that have been empty for long are more affordable now. Homes that are close to subway stations and good schools are still in high demand and expensive, the agent added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi