Related News

Home » Nation

Planning official says home buying is patriotic

AN official in Anhui Province has sparked controversy by linking the purchase of homes with patriotism.

Wang Aihua, director of Hefei City's urban planning bureau, turned up at a television station to promote apartment purchases on Monday, National Business Daily reported.

"Buy an apartment then you are patriotic," Wang said on the program.

Wang yelled the slogan at the end of the program, which has since been widely discussed, especially by the online community.

Some questioned Wang's definition of patriotism while others were left mystified by the connection between buying a home and patriotism. Others complained the government should not intervene in the real estate market.

Meanwhile, Hefei's Party secretary Sun Jinlong bought an 80-square-meter local apartment in the city recently in an effort to boost confidence in the market.

China's home prices experienced their first decline on record last month as slowing economic growth amid a global recession deterred home buyers.

Housing prices across 70 major cities fell in December, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. It's the first drop since the government started releasing data in August 2005.

New home prices in Shenzhen tumbled 18.1 percent, the biggest fall among the cities. Prices in Guangzhou fell 9.4 percent.

The State Council last month said it will take a series of measures including building more homes for low-income families and controlling gains in land prices. There are also plans to introduce real estate investment trusts to revitalize construction projects delayed by financing woes.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend