Property prices still cause for concern
By Diao Ying (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-12 07:18

When 26-year-old Yang Huiyan, the daughter of a real estate developer, topped China's Forbes rich list with a fortune worth $16.2 billion last year, high school teacher Li Ling found herself becoming a millionaire as well.

But unlike the heiress, Li's assets were in a 1-million-yuan ($140,000) apartment she and her boyfriend bought with their parents' life savings, the mortgage repayments on which will cost them more than half their monthly wages for many years to come.

Li, also 26, decided to take the plunge and saddle herself with debt, as housing prices in Beijing were soaring throughout the country.

Housing prices in Beijing rose 17.5 percent year-on-year in December, compared with 10.5 percent in 70 other large- and medium-sized cities in China, according to figures from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Many have made moves similar to Li's, riding on the back of sentiment that prices will continue to rise.

"Who knows? It may go up even further," Li, who has cut back on leisure activities to save money, said.

The provision of housing amid such surging prices has become one of the top concerns at this year's NPC and CPPCC sessions, with deputies from academic institutions and the real estate industry submitting various proposals.

Among them, the call to combine measures from the government with market forces is the main one being made. It also echoes the remarks on the housing challenge made by Premier Wen Jiabao in his work report last week.

"We must ensure the government and the market both play their due roles," the premier said.

Specifically, it means the government will give priority to housing for low- and middle-income families, while the demands of high-income families will be met largely through the market.

Wen said the central government will this year earmark 6.8 billion yuan in its budget to build low-rent houses for the urban poor, 1.7 billion yuan, or 33 percent, more than last year.

The government has also required local governments at all levels to increase funding in this area.

Similarly, the government will build more affordable houses to ease the housing problems of low-income urban residents and improve the living conditions of rural migrant workers in cities, the premier said in his report.

The government will also apply a set of tax, credit and land supply measures to curb demand for high-end housing and prevent the market from overheating.

Other steps have been taken to curb rising housing prices.

Last year, the central bank raised the commercial bank reserve ratio 10 times. It has also increased the level once this year, in an attempt to curb credit growth.

The latest statement by the NDRC said housing prices remained high in January but were rising at a slower pace, as macroeconomic measures had begun to pay off in November.

Wang Jianlin, president of real estate firm Dalian Wanda Group, said prices will not decline sharply, given rising raw material costs and market demand, but will "stay at a stable level with the overall macro control policies".

(China Daily 03/12/2008 page7)