China is expected to adopt new housing policies by the end of September.              China is expected to adopt new housing policies by the end of the month to favour middle- and low-income urban residents, officials and insiders said over the weekend. One important adjustment is to divide current affordable apartments into two types: those for sale and those for rent. This will create the backbone of the nation's housing guarantee system in the future, said an official with the Ministry of Construction. Different from past policies, cities will be encouraged to construct and lease out "low-cost houses" for minimum earners, officials said. Moreover, local governments will provide certain allowances for these tenants on rental fees. The remarks were the latest steps in regulating the real estate market. On May 29, nine cabinet departments jointly issued an announcement to curb the property price hikes in many cities, reports said. "Cities at all levels must work out concrete plans on housing construction before the end of September," it said. "Because China is a populous nation, it is unrealistic to help each person purchase an apartment of his/her own," said Fang Mingli, a real estate entrepreneur in Beijing. By building low-cost houses, the nation will handle the problem of the large-number of urban people who cannot afford to buy a new house, he noted. One controversial issue for real estate developers and insiders is that small apartments no bigger than 90 square metres must now account for 70 per cent of new homes being built. "Low-priced apartments are welcomed by the mass of people who participate in the distribution of social resources by purchasing new houses," said Meng Xiaosu, who is chairman of China Real Estate Development (Group). But "the small size is just the eye-catching part of the problem." Nowadays, the proportion of investment into economically affordable housing only accounts for 5 per cent of the total, which is far short of the increasing demand for new houses from middle- and low-income families, Meng said. "The ideal proportion of economically affordable apartments in China's real estate market should surpass 30 per cent," he suggested. By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)

據有關官員和內部人士上周末透露，我國將于本月底之前開始實行有利于中低收入者的新住房政策。 其中一項重大調整就是將現有的經濟適用房細分為銷售型和租賃型。建設部的一位官員稱，這個劃分將成為未來中國住房保障體系的主要框架。 據有關官員介紹，與以往政策不同的是，新政策將鼓勵城市建造一些"廉租房"，提供給那些處于最低生活保障線下的人群租住。此外，當地政府將為這些租房者提供一定的租房補貼。 以上內容是政府調控房地產市場的最新舉措。 據報道，今年5月29日，國務院九大部委聯合下發了一份旨在抑制很多城市房價過快上漲的意見。 《意見》中提到："9月底前，各級城市必須制訂出關于住房建設的詳細規劃。" 北京一位名叫方明立的房地產商說："中國人口眾多，所以為每個人提供購房補貼是不現實的。" 他說，通過建造廉租房的舉措，大量無力購買新房的城市居民的住房問題可得到解決。 新政策規定，建筑面積90平米以下的住房必須占到新建房數量的70％，這在房地產開發商和業內人士中引起了爭議。 中國房地產開發集團董事長孟曉蘇說："低價位房受到想買新房的人民大眾的歡迎"，但"面積小（造成的總價低）是其中一個重要因素"。 孟曉蘇說，目前，經濟適用房的投資比例只占房地產總投資的5％，遠遠不能滿足中低收入家庭不斷增長的購房需要。 他說："中國房地產市場上的經濟適用房比重應該超過30％。" (英語點津姍姍編輯)