Li Peijia, an employee at an accounting firm, moved into affordable housing in Shenzhen
“Chinese people believe you have to have a house in order to have a family, so we feel very lucky. However, in the area that I live in now, our rooms are pretty small and it’s close to the road, so it’s noisy. The apartments that were given to government officials are more comfortable. If the program is really intended to help average people, it would be better to build the apartments to meet average people’s demands.”
Mark, a 33-year-old engineer, bought price-capped housing in Beijing’s Chaoyang district
“I was among the first to buy price-capped housing when it was launched in the capital in 2008. I was able to get a two-bedroom apartment because the prices for commercial housing dropped that year, so most buyers chose commercial houses instead. It has facilities like schools and hospitals, and also has commercial units that are expected to sell for US$4,630 per square meter, so the developer can make a profit.”
Chen Weizhi, a 58-year-old laid-off worker, bought an affordable unit in Shanghai
“To qualify for the program, we had to have a per-capita living area of no more than 15 sqm and an annual household income of no more than US$10,801. Our new apartment is in southwestern Shanghai, and is mixed in with resettlement housing and commercial property. I think the apartment itself is quite good, but there aren’t any supermarkets nearby.”
Mr. Chen, a retiree, bought an economically affordable house in Hangzhou late last year
“To qualify for affordable housing in Hangzhou, you must be living in a house smaller than 48 sqm and have an annual per-capita household income of less than US$3,704. My new apartment is in the suburbs, really far away. It’s not completed so I have no idea what it will actually look like, but it’s mixed with low-rent housing. I’ve heard that the quality is not great, and there are no clear regulations yet regarding inheritance or sales. But it’s better than nothing.”
Ms. Liu, a retiree, bought an economically affordable apartment in Hangzhou in 2008
“Once my application was approved, it was nearly another three years before I received my unit, a 90-sqm apartment in a high-rise building. The project has many quality issues and construction was halted once due to a conflict between the contractor and constructor. But we’re happy to finally have an apartment of our own.”
Fanny, an employee at a Property Management FIRM, bought an affordable house in Shenzhen
“My family had to meet about six criteria to get affordable housing, including earning less than US$4,094 in the last two years, having less than US$49,387 in assets and obeying the one-child policy. We didn’t exaggerate any of our personal information, but it’s very common in Shenzhen. Overall, I think the program is great. Property prices in Shenzhen are so high, people with low incomes can work their whole lives and never afford to buy a house.”
Zhang Qiang, a 35-year-old engineer, lives in price-capped housing in Beijing’s Tongzhou district
“I bought a two-bedroom house for about US$741 per sqm in a Longfor Properties development in 2009. Property nearby was going for around US$926. Since I’m single, I should have received a one-bedroom apartment. But because the apartment layout wasn’t good there were only around 100 applicants for more than 1,000 apartments. I thought there wasn’t enough publicity and the process wasn’t transparent enough. Many good apartments were bought by people as investments, to rent out rather than live in. There are always people exploiting loopholes.”
You must log in to post a comment.