RISKY REAL ESTATE IN CHINA
Although upscale developers, speculators, and banks have made a fortune, there are signs the easy money could be coming to an end
Business Week, May 1, 2008
Until a few years ago, few mainland Chinese would have understood the old English adage "as safe as houses." Property was owned by the state and where you lived depended on the whim of the local work unit leader.
Even after the private housing revolution of the mid-1990s, when many individuals bought flats at knock-down prices from their work units, property owners had no legal means of protecting their homes from the municipal wrecking-ball.
But last year's property rights law supposedly changed all that and, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a remarkable 80% of urban Chinese households now own their homes.
Although your correspondent still has qualms about jumping into the fray mainly because so many new buildings seem to age faster than Keith Richards after a particularly heavy night that has not put off locals and speculators.
Property prices have risen rapidly. According to the latest figures, prices in the 70 major cities measured by the government's property index are growing annually at around 11% although prices at the top end are rising much faster than that. Two years ago, an apartment in Beijing's Central Park, one of the capital's smartest addresses, could be had for around US$2,000 per square meter. Now you would be lucky to get it for US$5,000, while the penthouse apartments cost over US$9,000.
(...) [artículo aquí]
Although upscale developers, speculators, and banks have made a fortune, there are signs the easy money could be coming to an end
Business Week, May 1, 2008
Until a few years ago, few mainland Chinese would have understood the old English adage "as safe as houses." Property was owned by the state and where you lived depended on the whim of the local work unit leader.
Even after the private housing revolution of the mid-1990s, when many individuals bought flats at knock-down prices from their work units, property owners had no legal means of protecting their homes from the municipal wrecking-ball.
But last year's property rights law supposedly changed all that and, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a remarkable 80% of urban Chinese households now own their homes.
Although your correspondent still has qualms about jumping into the fray mainly because so many new buildings seem to age faster than Keith Richards after a particularly heavy night that has not put off locals and speculators.
Property prices have risen rapidly. According to the latest figures, prices in the 70 major cities measured by the government's property index are growing annually at around 11% although prices at the top end are rising much faster than that. Two years ago, an apartment in Beijing's Central Park, one of the capital's smartest addresses, could be had for around US$2,000 per square meter. Now you would be lucky to get it for US$5,000, while the penthouse apartments cost over US$9,000.
(...) [artículo aquí]
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