Society

Professionals turned off by property prices

By Zheng Caixiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-28 07:45

Guangzhou government urged to curb rising housing costs

Professionals turned off by property prices

GUANGZHOU: Concern about skyrocketing housing costs is set to dominate the session of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which opens today, as members urge the provincial capital's government to take concrete measures to bring down prices in the new year.

Wang Lizong, a member, said rising residential property costs in Guangzhou are forcing high-quality professional talent, both domestic and foreign, to stay away from the city.

"Cost of housing is an important factor for talent hoping to settle down in a city," said Wang, the secretary general of Guangdong provincial chamber of the high-tech industry.

"But the recent hike in prices is sapping the capacity of the city's businesses, as many outstanding talents are choosing to bypass the southern metropolis to settle down in other cities of Guangdong and the rest of the country."

Wang said he would present a proposal urging authorities to take "effective and concrete steps to cool down the overheated residential property market" once the Third Session of the 10th Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPPCC opened.

Wang suggested relevant departments introduce more preferential policies in housing, taxation, education, medical care and employment in order to lure more professionals from China and abroad to settle in Guangzhou.

Peter Chang, who returned to Guangzhou after studying in New Zealand for two years, said the cost of housing in the provincial capital is "really very high".

"Not many people can afford a new apartment in the city, even though they might be keen on living here," Chang, who runs a consulting business in Guangzhou, told China Daily.

According to statistics released by the Guangzhou Land Resources and Housing Management Bureau, housing prices jumped more than 1,500 yuan ($219) per sq m in 2009, hitting a record high average price of 13,000 yuan.

The highest price for luxury apartments in the city's prime locations has passed 25,000 yuan per sq m, close on the heels of Shanghai and Beijing.

A new three-bedroom apartment in the city now costs more than 2 million yuan.

More than 19.37 million sq m of residential property changed hands, with a trading volume of 137.4 billion yuan, in 2009, up 92.5 percent year-on-year.

Real estate analysts forecast the city's property prices might not come down this year, despite a series of policies introduced to help bring the soaring costs under control.

Li Wenjiang, an analyst with the Guangzhou-based Hopefluent Group Holdings Ltd, predicted property prices would continue to "grow moderately" this year.

Li attributed the hike to an imbalance in supply and demand.

"The supply still fails to meet the demand, particularly for the luxury and larger homes," he said.

To help cool the real estate market, Zhang Guangning, mayor of Guangzhou, promised to introduce new measures later this year. The city government will offer more land for property development and build more budget houses for low-income families.