Capital investment
A real-estate agent is busy taking calls at last week’s property fair in Beijing. Behindhim is a billboard featuring properties for sale. |
Mr. Zhang, a 27-year-old clerk in a State-owned company, asked for leave last Thursday to visit the home fair. He was quite disappointed because nearly all the homes in his price range of under 10,000 yuan ($1,290) per square meter were situated in suburban and county areas.
Most house seekers, such as Zhang, show a preference to houses of medium- and small-size owing to their relative lower total prices. But most said the price per unit was still
Chinese real-estate agents hire “angels” to attract visitors at the property expo in Beijing. AFP |
Although he could not find his dream home, Zhang said he would not change his home buying strategy. "There will be more losses if I put off the purchase. I see no signs that the price would go down," he said.
Young people 20-plus, such as Zhang, accounted for the largest percentage of visitors to the fair. After working for a few years, most young Chinese perceive owing a house of their own to be their most essential and urgent need.
However, what they experience in the home-buying process, particularly in large cities such as Beijing, are mixed feelings of happiness and bitterness.
Xiao Hao, 24, decided to buy an apartment last year after working as a clerk for about three years. "Many friends of mine already owned their own houses and I felt that I was capable of making it too," she said.
Price was the No 1 factor she had to consider. After visiting more than 10 second-hand apartments and two new buildings, she finally focused on North Beijing, specifically a residential building complex situated not far away from the home she rented. Studio flats were priced less than 500,000 yuan ($65,000), which Hao could afford.
In early March, she arrived at the opening day's home sale and was shocked by the number of people queuing. Hao received a number of 200 plus, which indicated her position in the queue.
She felt depressed because there were only about 190 sets of apartments available for sales. But she did not leave and hoped for a miracle.
In the sales hall, people had to wait more than 20 hours till the next morning's opening. Some people were so tired that they lay on the ground and went to sleep, Hao said.
Later that night she started talking to a couple, who had an extra ticket, numbered in the 50s.
"I persuaded them to give the number to me as I promised to them that I would pay them a few thousand yuan if I could finally buy one apartment," she said.
The next afternoon, Hao finally got all procedures done including selecting an apartment she liked and paying the deposit.
It was already more than 24 sleepless hours she had gone through.
"If I did not make the deal with the couple, all pains I had suffered would be worthless. In fact, many people were not as lucky as me," she said.
However, she would have to wait two more years to move into her apartment as the building was only at a construction stage.
Now, every month she needs to repay 2,000 yuan ($259) to the bank for her mortgage and pay another 1,000 yuan ($129) for her rent.
She said her finances were tight but she still could afford to buy food and clothes. However after paying for the essentials, nothing was left.
Recently, Hao liaised with the owners of their building to negotiate with the building developer about building a transformer substation near their complex. Originally, a tennis court was promised to be constructed on the site. "The building is our future home. We just want to safeguard our legal rights and interests," she said.
Chu Yu, 31, was an employee in a State-owned company. Having a permanent residence of Beijing made him previously lay all his hope on buying a cheaper apartment. However, according to the new policy enacted in June last year, only relocated households due to city planning are qualified to buy the cheap apartments. Chu's dream was shattered.
So he later turned his sights to properties situated near the city subway stations, to ensure he could get to work on time without worrying about the traffic jam. After careful comparisons, he finally purchased a 90-square-meter apartment for 6,000 yuan ($777) per square meter, twice as much as a budget home, in Huilongguan, the largest residential community in Beijing. It takes about an hour to travel to and from work by train from his new home.
"When the house is an essential product you need, you would still buy it even if it is priced much higher than you expect," said Chu.
He is planning to marry his girlfriend Li Yan later this year after collecting the keys to his home. Marriage is the most important reason for his decision to buy a house, he admitted.
For most young people like Chu working for just a few years, the down payment of more than 100,000 yuan ($12,900) was a big sum they did not have. So most of the time, their parents paid it.
"It would take a few more years to buy a house simply depending on myself," said Chu, "I would repay the money to my parents as soon as possible, though they refuse it each time I mentioned it."
His girlfriend, Li Yan, is the manager of an online forum of their future community, where the would-be apartment owners could get to know their neighbors and exchange information about their community.
Some even posted the photos of most recent construction development they shot after they sneaked into the construction site.
Li said she already organized a few gatherings of the owners through the forum. "It felt quite nice to meet future neighbors. I made quite a few friends," she said.
(China Daily 04/10/2007 page19)
