Netizens hone in on housing vacancy rate

SHANGHAI - The absence of authoritative figures on the nation's housing vacancy rate, reported as high as 50 percent in major cities by domestic media, has led some netizens to carry out a field investigation themselves.

Initiated by news portal Sina.com, a nationwide investigation was conducted on the housing market in more than 100 cities, with many netizens volunteering to collect firsthand information by counting the vacant rooms in commercial buildings.

"With help from our users, we have gathered information on more than 1,000 real estate projects across the nation so far," said Liao Lanxin, an editor in charge of the online survey from the Shanghai office of Sina.com.