Foreign firms trim housing budgets

Foreigners working with multinational companies in China will soon find their good old days of staying in high-end, full-service apartments gone as a survey showed that the weakening economy has forced a rising number of multinational companies to review their housing budgets.

Over 50 percent of multinational companies in Beijing are considering reducing their housing budgets, according to a research released yesterday by UK-based real estate advisor Savills.

The 2009 China Corporate Expatriate Housing Budget Report interviewed more than 400 multinational companies from different industries currently operating in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It highlighted the expatriate housing budget trend in China.