|
Nude models strut around at housing expo By Yu Nan (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2006-03-28 08:51 Naked models with colored drawings on their bare
breasts featured at this year's Shanghai Spring Real Estate Exhibition as part
of a special promotion to campaign for buyers, Chengdu Evening News has
reported.
A model has her body
painted at the housing show in Shanghai.
[file] | Semi-naked female models wearing only
t-shaped underpants with colored drawings on their breasts walked around the
exhibition for "International Auto Town" on March 17 and 18.
Saleswomen at the show said the models were a kind of performance art
designed to attract people's attention.
The naked model show wasn't the
only ridiculous promotion. Some developers claimed that the so-called
"international wardrobe city" project was a large-scale image project that has
been greatly supported by the local government.
Others promised to
return rental fees with interest estimated much higher than the normal
bank-lending rate for customers interested in long-term investment.
Some
developers strongly recommended group-housing purchases, claiming higher member
numbers mean cheaper prices. They even promised a free five-day trip to Vietnam
to help take in potential customers.
Of course, the naked models and
other over the top promotions were obviously stunts designed to lure foolhardy
customers.
In fact, the real estate exhibition was indeed prosperous for
developers who were fielded inquiries from a horde of customers all day. Over
5,000 brochures were sent out to potential investors in just one
day.
Developers originally hoped to increase sales by using naked models
to attract customers; but many customers are fed up and disgusted with the
overuse of such cheap tricks. As supply exceeds demand, the acreage of
vacant commercial housing has increased to 143 million square meters, up 15.7
percent on last year, based on the fourth quarter statement on monetary policy
2005 issued by the People's Bank of China.
A model walks around
at the housing exposition in Shanghai.
[file] | Nevertheless, it showed down payments
for housing following the 2006 exhibition decreased by up to 20 percent compared
with last year.
Insiders say the real estate market should have been
regulated by the state but is now in the hands of developers trying to damage
the supply and demand relationship.
The real estate market hasn't
actually experienced the soft landing, economics insiders added.
Zhang
Qunqun, member of Institution of Finance and Trade Economics at the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences said that local governments ignored the demands of
the people while helping to line the pockets of some
developers.
"Fortunately, however, we are not as stupid as the investors
expected," an unnamed gentleman who intended to purchase housing
said.
"If the price is right, I will make a purchase even without
promotional offers," he said.
|
|
|
|