Chinese School - Renting houses for whole life?

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BIZCHINA / Biz Life

Renting houses for whole life?

By Tu Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-27 10:50

Liu Kai, a house buyer in Chengdu City, Southwest China's Sichuan
Province, is regretting his slow decision on buying house, because a one
year wait cost him 120,000 yuan (US$15,852.05).??

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In 2006, he planned to buy an apartment at a price of 3,700 yuan per
square meter, but he waited to see if the price would drop. Instead, the
price rose to 5,200 yuan per square meter by the end of 2006.?

"I don't think the housing price will drop, never, ever!" said Liu.?

In Chengdu City,?the average selling price of commodity houses in 2006
was 4,472 yuan per square meter, up 9.5 percent year on year. Between
January and May of 2007, the price was 4,650 yuan, up 6.5 percent year on
year.?

Chen Wuyuan, a researcher from Sichuan branch of the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences, said the increase of consumer price index (CPI), a gauge
of inflation, is partly attributed to the housing prices.??

"The government should build more low-rental houses for its low-income
residents," said Chen.

Figures from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that CPI rose 4.4
percent in June compared with a year ago, as a result of rapidly rising
food prices.

Food accounts for 37 percent in CPI, followed by transport and
communications, at 14 percent, and entertainment and education at 12
percent.

As for salaries, the NBS said workers' annual wages rose on average from
12,422 yuan in 2002 to 21,001 yuan in 2006, an annual increase rate of 12
percent.

Figures show the country is experiencing its fastest-ever growth since it
began opening up 30 years ago.

Sichuan Statistics Bureau showed urban residents’ disposable income per
capita was 9,350 yuan one year, up 11.5 percent from last year, with a
growth rate of 2.7 percent from last year.

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