Real estate developer builds affordable housing to pay back society

In the panel discussion held by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on March 5, while talking about the polices of reducing housing prices, Wang Chaobin, board chairman of a Henan real estate company, disclosed in his heavy accent, "Zhengzhou's housing prices are soaring, and many common people cannot afford a apartment. Seeing that, I demolished my villa and constructed 3 buildings of affordable housing apartments on the lot. I sold the apartments to common people at a price lower than the prices of the surrounding apartments. Media call my buildings the 'civilian affordable housing,' and the people who bought my apartments appreciate the gesture."

Wang's remark immediately created a disturbance. A member sitting 2 rows away from him could not help himself and said, "You did a great deed." Another member sitting next Wang curiously asked him, "Since 3 buildings could be built on the lot where your villa originally was, how big was your villa?"

Wang answered seriously, "The original 2 villas occupied about 30 mu of land. My new apartments have sold quite well." At the same time, the reporters on the site started to look over the name lists in their hands, and asked each other, "Who is this committee member?"

In addition to being a member of the CPPCC and a real estate developer, Wang was also a frequenter of every well-known rich list. He once said in the media that he was already a billionaire in the 1990's.

Regarding Wang's deed of demolishing his villas and building affordable housing, many people think he was just showing off, and some even think that he earned a lot of money under the guise of "bringing benefit to the people." Wang said that he built three 31-floor buildings, which contained a total of 1,596 apartments. The total floor area of the buildings is 160,000 square meters. The apartments started selling in December of 2009, and by now, only some high-level and relatively expensive apartments have not been purchased. Zhengzhou's average housing price is between 5,800 and 6,000 yuan per square meter. Although his affordable housing apartments only sell at 3,600 to 4,000 per square meter, the total sales revenue can still reach hundreds of millions of yuan."

Some people said that regardless of whether or not Wang earned a lot of money, the thousands of families who bought Wang's "civilian affordable housing apartments" now can live in new houses for prices lower than the market price. Wang indeed brought benefits to these families, and so we should hope there will be more real estate developers like Wang.

Wang's family moved into an office after the villa was demolished

Reporter: What made you think to demolish your villa and construct affordable housing?

Wang: Since Bill Gates will donate all his money, it is a shame that China's real estate developers spend all their money on pleasures.

Reporter: So, did you do it to give back to society?

Wang: Premier Wen once said that entrepreneurs should have the blood of morality running in their veins. When I heard this, I was greatly enlightened and inspired. I think it is Premier Wen’s wish and expectation of entrepreneurs. Therefore, I did this. I don't care what other people say about me.

Reporter: Have people said you just wanted to show off?

Wang: So far, I haven't heard any negative comments. When I was selling the apartments, I once received 28 silk banners on a single day from the people who bought my apartments. Since I have helped my customers, why would people say I am bad?

Reporter: How long had you lived in your villa? Where do you live now?

Wang: I had lived in the villa for about 10 years. After it was demolished, my entire family moved to an office and has been living there.

Do you think what you did will affect housing prices in China?

Wang: I did not intend to change society. I just wanted to inspire the real estate development industry. I hope other real estate developers can also do what I have done. I have written articles on my micro-blog, calling on all the real estate developers actively limit their housing prices to keep China's housing prices down. Although no other developers have done it thus far, I believe they will do it in the future.

Reporter: Your proposal this year is also about housing prices, right?

Wang: Yes. My proposal this year is a multi-circle proposal that has been signed by many members. We suggest the government waive some unreasonable fees and charges such as air-defense costs, blueprint examination costs, lighting-prevention examination costs and anti-earthquake examination costs. I have made a calculation that all these fees and charges account for as high as 10 percent of the total housing price. Real estate developers definitely will not bear this cost, and this cost will be ultimately transferred to housing consumers.