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July 13, 2011

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Home » Business » Real Estate

Push for cheaper homes

A TOTAL of 2 million square meters of new houses will commence construction in the city's Nanhui New Town and Linggang Industrial Park in the second half of this year, according to Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng.

Half of the new homes will come with a ceiling price and half will be affordable housing that allows potential owners to rent first and purchase later.

The trial program is designed to provide housing only for certain buyers, such as those working in areas including Nanhui New Town, the Jumbo Jet Assembling Base, Zhangjiang High-Tech Park and the Yangshan Free Trade Port Area.

It's the latest effort by the local government to retain young professionals, particularly those from other parts of the country who are leaving Shanghai due mainly to high home prices, Han said while addressing the plenary session of the Party's Shanghai Committee.

The Shanghai government will set price caps for some houses, and future sales of the properties will face restrictions such as a lock-up period, Han said without elaborating.

"The trial program to offer homes with a price cap to certain designated buyers is mainly aimed to solve the accommodation difficulty that a group of young professionals and talents, particularly those from outside of Shanghai, have been facing at the moment," Han said. "Preparatory works for the program should be accelerated so as to make sure that construction can kick off as soon as the second half."

First-ever city effort

The new initiative, the first of its kind ever in the city, will help attract and retain professionals while also boosting the development of Nanhui New Town and Linggang Industrial Park, industry people said.

"By offering new homes with more affordable prices, professionals and talents from other parts of the country as well as young graduates and workers whose purchasing power is rather limited at the moment, will probably find it more attractive to settle themselves down in the two areas," said Song Huiyong, research director at Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd, operator of the city's largest estate chain in terms of transaction value.

"The development of the two areas will also be boosted by the new initiative as they are now facing inadequate residents as a majority of the workers there prefer to live elsewhere because of the remote distances from the city center," Song said.

Affordable housing is near the top of city government's agenda as soaring home prices have been triggering ever-growing concerns on asset price bubbles as well as increasing risks for social instability.

Under an earlier released government plan, Shanghai will see affordable housing totaling 15 million square meters built this year, an increase of 25 percent from 2010.




 

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