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Shanghai homes 'rather expensive'
By Cherry Cao |
May 5, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HOUSE prices in Shanghai are still very high compared to household incomes so the policy restricting the number of houses a family can buy is still necessary, the city's top housing official said yesterday.
The city government is working on some possible replacements for the policy that will also curb housing speculation, said Liu Haishen, director of the Shanghai Housing Support and Building Administration Bureau. They include some tax measures, such as a property tax, and bank lending policies, Liu said without giving any further details.
"When the home purchase restriction shall be revoked depends on when the city's home prices can be brought back to a comparatively reasonable level," Liu said. "At present, even families with medium to high-income still find home prices rather expensive."
Last year, the average cost of a new home in Shanghai, excluding government-funded affordable housing, was 2.58 million yuan (US$411,483), according to a report by the China Real Estate Information Corp. Meanwhile, the average annual income was 51,968 yuan, the city's statistics bureau said. Many young people have to borrow from their parents or grandparents after digging deep into their own pockets to buy a home.
After two years of policies aimed at cooling the overheated property market, prices for both new and existing homes in the city remained stable last year, Liu said.
The restrictions that limit every local household to, at most, two housing units and confine every non-local family to just one were introduced in January 2011.
About 40 cities around the country have the same restrictions, which also include increased down payments and mortgage rates for second homes.
In April, home prices in China fell for the eighth straight month, according to the China Index Academy, which tracks 100 major cities across the country. Prices dropped in 71 cities, compared to 66 in March, with 14 seeing falls of more than 1 percent.
In Shanghai, prices fell for the ninth consecutive month by 0.65 percent compared to March.
The city government is working on some possible replacements for the policy that will also curb housing speculation, said Liu Haishen, director of the Shanghai Housing Support and Building Administration Bureau. They include some tax measures, such as a property tax, and bank lending policies, Liu said without giving any further details.
"When the home purchase restriction shall be revoked depends on when the city's home prices can be brought back to a comparatively reasonable level," Liu said. "At present, even families with medium to high-income still find home prices rather expensive."
Last year, the average cost of a new home in Shanghai, excluding government-funded affordable housing, was 2.58 million yuan (US$411,483), according to a report by the China Real Estate Information Corp. Meanwhile, the average annual income was 51,968 yuan, the city's statistics bureau said. Many young people have to borrow from their parents or grandparents after digging deep into their own pockets to buy a home.
After two years of policies aimed at cooling the overheated property market, prices for both new and existing homes in the city remained stable last year, Liu said.
The restrictions that limit every local household to, at most, two housing units and confine every non-local family to just one were introduced in January 2011.
About 40 cities around the country have the same restrictions, which also include increased down payments and mortgage rates for second homes.
In April, home prices in China fell for the eighth straight month, according to the China Index Academy, which tracks 100 major cities across the country. Prices dropped in 71 cities, compared to 66 in March, with 14 seeing falls of more than 1 percent.
In Shanghai, prices fell for the ninth consecutive month by 0.65 percent compared to March.
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