2010 land supply doubles from 2009

China has announced this year's land supply plan for housing. A total of 180-thousand hectares of land has been earmarked for commercial housing, welfare housing and housing for people living in shelters.

2010 land supply doubles from 2009

The Ministry of Land and Resources unveiled one of the country's biggest-ever land supply plans. This year's 180-thousand hectares more than doubles last year's figure and is roughly three times the average of the past five years.

Land supply for commercial housing alone reached 80-thousand hectares, that's more than the entire land allocation for housing last year.

Commercial housing will consist of small to mid-sized apartments.

Land for welfare housing also doubles

There was also good news for people seeking welfare housing, with land supply also doubling from the previous year to reach 24-thousand hectares. Affordable housing accounts for 70 percent of the welfare housing land supply, while low-rent housing accounts for the rest...the latter up nearly five-fold from that of last year.

Land supply has more than doubled following the central government's order to build 3 million homes for low-income households this year.

Land for sheltered areas included

For the first time, restructuring sheltered areas have been included in the annual land supply blueprint. The Ministry has set a target to rebuild 2.8 million houses in urban and factory shelter areas. The earmarked land supply accounts for a fifth of the total housing land supply.

The expanding land supply plan comes after China expressed determination to curb increasing housing bubbles and provide homes to low-income people.