50% women demand suitors to have house

About half of white-collar workers in Guangzhou do not own a house but have a strong desire to purchase one, which industry insiders said indicates that the housing prices will continue to increase in the long run despite the current slowdown in the property market, Yangcheng Evening News citing a latest survey said on Sunday.

Based on 2,163 answers, the survey by zhaopin.com on white-collar housing situation in Guangzhou said about half of white-collar workers in the capital city of Guangdong province do not own a house, and spend more than 30 minutes commuting.

More than half of the respondents said that buying a house is directly related to the possibility of getting married.

Nearly 40 percent rent an apartment, with about 30 percent spending at least 1,500 yuan a month on rent.

The sky-high rent means 80 percent white-collar tenants have strong desire to purchase their own property.

Apart from the rent, purchasing a house is expensive too in Guangzhou, with properties commanding more than 10,000 yuan per square meter accounting for 50 percent of all residential real estate.

A similar survey by Yangcheng Evening News found that about half of all female white-collar workers said they will not get married until they get a house.

Industry insiders said housing prices in Guangzhou will continue to increase in the long run as there is still demand in Guangzhou property market.

"As the policy eases, an increasing number of consumers will make purchases," said Zhou Feng, senior manager of market research at MyTopHome, a real estate brokerage.

Ren Zhiqiang, a real estate tycoon, said there is still room for China’s real estate prices to increase.