[photopress:Wenzhou.jpg,full,alignright]Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, has the China’s first individual cooperative housing project. Work will start within five months.
Zhao Zhiqiang, general secretary of the Wenzhou Marketing Association, announced this at the Second China Individual Cooperative Housing Seminar Zhao told the seminar that a piece of land had been secured from the government through a trusted property company.
This Wenzhou housing cooperative sets an example for similar developments. At a cost of RMB104.58 million ($13.26 million), Zhengyuan Real Estate Development from Rui’an City, Wenzhou bought the development rights for a piece of land of about 2 hectares.
Previously the Zhengyuan company had signed a contract with Wenzhou Marketing Association to develop the land for the Association which acts on behalf of 260 members of the Whenzhou Housing Cooperative.
These members had Wenzhou Marketing Association act on their behalf and sign a development contract with a property company, which has the legitimate right to buy and develop the land.
Zhao Zhiqiang admitted that ‘acquisition of land’ was the major bottleneck for China’s individual housing cooperatives. He said, ‘Wenzhou’s success came from a set of combined favorable factors: the legal status of the marketing association as a social organization, the expedient financing channels and a hung property market.’
The project will give the 260 housing cooperative members the possibility of buying their house at RMB5,300 ($762) per square meter. The average price of a tower block home close to their site is slightly more than double that.
Current membership of the Wenzhou Housing Cooperative is around 400. Zhao Zhiqiang said, ‘If this project proves successful, we’ll start the next one.’
Seven representatives from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Wuhan’s housing cooperatives attended the Second China Individual Housing Cooperative Seminar.
Source: Oriental Morning Post, translated by Wind Gu for China.org.cn