Housing, a too heavy burden
Updated: 2007-06-15 14:25
"If the housing prices in Shenzhen remain high, I might not be able to work here
anymore," complained a white collar worker surnamed Ye, who was interviewed by a reporter with the ChinaEconomicsTimes on June 7.
Ye said his salary is 5,000 yuan (US$655.7) per month, which is not bad compared to other cities. But if he wants to purchase a 90 square-meter apartment in Shenzhen, he would have to work the rest of his life to pay the mortgage.
In the first quarter of 2007, housing prices in Shenzhen saw a 10.3 percentyear-on-yearincrease, which is the highest in China, according a joint research by theNational Development and Reform Commissionand the National Bureau of Statistics.
The high housing prices make Ye very concerned about his future. He told the reporter he needs to seriously consider if he should stay in Shenzhen or not. In fact, this is not an individual case, as more and more Shenzhen residents believe the expensive housing prices are the biggest financial pressure on them.
According to Ye, Shenzhen's housing price increase was mainly driven by business investment, and the wealthy buy too many houses for investment, not for their own use.
Li Wenjie, regional manager of Centaline Property Limited, believes Beijing and Shanghai will follow the increasing price trend in Shenzhen.
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