Hong Kong will see mainland developers provide 8 percent of the overall home supply over the next three years and peaking in 2018, as their participation in government tendered land sales increases, global real estate advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) predicts.

That would mean one in 10 Hong Kong families buying new private homes in the next three years could be living in properties built by mainland developers.

In 2015, mainland developers bid for more than half of all government tendered residential land and won about 25 percent of awarded tenders, JLL data show. Moreover, the bid prices of mainland developers exceeded market expectations in 73 percent of cases between 2013 and 2015, compared with 59 percent for local developers.

"Mainland developers are facing profit margin squeezes in their mainland business. Therefore the Hong Kong residential market offers a good opportunity for these companies to diversify their business," JLL's Hong Kong Head of Research Denis Ma On-ping told a press conference on Wednesday.

"Moreover, gaining a business foothold in the Hong Kong market can elevate their brand image, implement their global expansion strategy and access to Hong Kong's transparent and open land sale system which does not discriminate against foreign firms," Ma added.

JLL estimates mainland developers can provide 8 percent of the total residential unit supply in Hong Kong between 2016 and 2019, with 90 percent of new blocks being built set to be mass residential projects in the New Territories and Kowloon.

"We are receiving more enquiries from mainland developers regarding how to comply with local regulatory requirements in construction, project management and property sales. We expect the year 2018 will witness the peak of residential flat supply by mainland developers," JLL Regional Director (Project & Sales) Henry Mok Hoi-kit said.

Local small and medium-sized developers may opt to form joint ventures with peers to respond to the new market environment, while heavyweight developers will likely wait and watch for the moment, Ma forecast.