Beijing house prices began to reduction.

[cross1993]

But some demonstrations to protest house-price reduction.

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[cross1993]

Suppress house prices, that is a thing to offend people.

 

[rcrmj]

hehe, this will only happen in China, in the west if any government tries to reduce the property market will be kicked out of parliment by those 'real' bosses overnight``haha!

anyway, this wont help the working class to buy property in china very much. the only advantage they probably will see is the readuction of monthly mortgage repayment shown on their bankstatements``lol

 

[pak-marine]

hehe, this will only happen in China, in the west if any government tries to reduce the property market will be kicked out of parliment by those 'real' bosses overnight``haha!

anyway, this wont help the working class to buy property in china very much. the only advantage they probably will see is the readuction of monthly mortgage repayment shown on their bankstatements``lol

how is the govt trying to reduce the house prices ?

 

[CardSharp]

But some demonstrations to protest house-price reduction.

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Too bad for the, it their speculative investment is what was driving the property bubble anyways. Their greed doesn't trump the welfare of the nation and the ability of average people to find affordable housing.

 

[rcrmj]

how is the govt trying to reduce the house prices ?

ok let me explain. the Chinese property market is free in the sense that demand pushes up the price. unlike western governments they pose very little mechanism to dictate. thats how you have the subprime crisis, coz when property market is good, people keep borrowing extreemly cheap mortgage to buy properties hence pushes up the market price further until the volum exceed the borrower's repayment ability and drain the cash within the market the buble bursted.

the chinese property market has been prosper at double digits for decades initially pushed up by 'hot moeny' from foreign investors, but when the price reached to certain level, people start borrowing money from banks to finance their purchases of new properties. in 2009 the property prices reached at alarming level (its more expensive to buy a decent flat in my hometown which cost u easily £500,000 than to buy a flat in London within zoon2! not to mention big cities in China like shanghai/beijing etc)

so last year the government lauched a strict polilcy that banks no longer to lend money to second time home buyers!! so, even the rich people cant have spare £500,000 cash readily to do investment! on top of that the government inpose heavy tax on second time purchases`!!

 

[Nomenclature]

I have two relatives who just can't stop complaining about the house prices in Beijing. Both of them got laid off in their 40s and stayed at home instead of trying to find another job. They own apartment that was practically given them for free during the 90s, but now everyone is buying bigger and better units they're very bitter.

One of them went to see a new apartment block with some subsidized units for low-income families, and came back blasting the government and property developer for discriminating against the poor. The reason was all subsided units were south-facing and premium north facing units were only available for buyers who pays full market price.

The simple fact about Chinese property market is over 80% of Chinese families own at least one home/apartment. But they're unhappy with high property prices in major cities because either they want bigger and more modern unit like those relatives of mine or they want to move into first or selected second tier cities. Of course those are understandable inspirations, but given China's immense population not everyone can live in a luxury 100+km2 apartment in a major city.

What the government and average Chinese can do is to rethink home ownership. China at the moment has a exceptional high rate of home ownership, and I believe this is a time for change. The government is already doing this by shifting the focus from building and selling cheap housing to provide affordable rental properties. People also should not take home ownership for granted.

 

[below_freezing]

I have two relatives who just can't stop complaining about the house prices in Beijing. Both of them got laid off in their 40s and stayed at home instead of trying to find another job. They own apartment that was practically given them for free during the 90s, but now everyone is buying bigger and better units they're very bitter.

One of them went to see a new apartment block with some subsidized units for low-income families, and came back blasting the government and property developer for discriminating against the poor. The reason was all subsided units were south-facing and premium north facing units were only available for buyers who pays full market price.

The simple fact about Chinese property market is over 80% of Chinese families own at least one home/apartment. But they're unhappy with high property prices in major cities because either they want bigger and more modern unit like those relatives of mine or they want to move into first or selected second tier cities. Of course those are understandable inspirations, but given China's immense population not everyone can live in a luxury 100+km2 apartment in a major city.

What the government and average Chinese can do is to rethink home ownership. China at the moment has a exceptional high rate of home ownership, and I believe this is a time for change. The government is already doing this by shifting the focus from building and selling cheap housing to provide affordable rental properties. People also should not take home ownership for granted.

顶^n 10char

 

[StingRoy]

The reason was all subsided units were south-facing and premium north facing units were only available for buyers who pays full market price.

Is there a reason why north-facing units are preferred? I always thought people in northern hemisphere preferred to get south facing homes to get in maximum winter sun.

 

[Nomenclature]

Is there a reason why north-facing units are preferred? I always thought people in northern hemisphere preferred to get south facing homes to get in maximum winter sun.

Yeah, it should be the way you said. In China (or at least in Beijing) people say Yin-facing or Yang-facing instead of North-facing and South-facing. I've never been good with directions, so I got it wrong when paraphrasing my relative in English.

 

[StingRoy]

Yeah, it should be the way you said. I've never been good with directions.

Hahaa... never mind then... you had me confused for a while there

Is there an indication of the percentage drops in the housing market? Is this phenomenon seen in other metropolitan areas. I was checking out the property prices in some of the major cities in China and they seem to be almost at par with housing in the US semi-metropolitan areas. Condos/Apts were around USD 300 - 400k and single homes were around USD 400 - 600k.

 

[Nomenclature]

Hahaa... never mind then... you had me confused for a while there

Is there an indication of the percentage drops in the housing market? Is this phenomenon seen in other metropolitan areas. I was checking out the property prices in some of the major cities in China and they seem to be almost at par with housing in the US semi-metropolitan areas. Condos/Apts were around USD 300 - 400k and single homes were around USD 400 - 600k.

It will depend on the location. Take Beijing for example, premium properties in inner-city area haven't moved at all, but prices for some new developments in the outskirt of the city has gone down 10%-20%, which is what normally happens when you see a property price drop.