[photopress:ShanghaiRealEstate_monopoly.gif,full,alignright]Beijing’s municipal government is to try and push for affordable homes in the capital. The Beijing construction commission and Beijing land and resources bureau said construction firms would be invited to tender for the rights to build a range of low-cost properties in the Songjiazhuang residential area of Fengtai district.
Beijing Youth Daily reported that city officials said the bidding system was being introduced in an effort to improve the quality of homes in the city and also to bring down prices.
According to a website affiliated with the commission, more than half of all the new apartments sold last August were priced in excess of RMB9,000 per sq m. The new homes, which will have a maximum floor area of 90 sq m, are targeted at medium and low-income families.
More than 4,250 affordable homes are to be built in Songjiazhuang, comprising 3,600 houses and 650 apartments. In its Housing Construction Plan for 2006-10, the capital’s municipal government said it would build 110,000 affordable homes with a combined floor space of 8 million sq m before the end of next year.
A recent survey by the Beijing Statistics Bureau showed that in 2006, people in the capital spent an average of RMB1,213 (US$155.51) on housing — including payments for water, electricity and gas — twice the figure recorded in 2000.
Yu Xiuqin, a spokesperson for the Beijing Statistics Bureau, said, ‘The rise is more a result of manipulation by property developers than a true reflection of the market. The demand for houses will be met gradually.’
Source: China Daily
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