Source: CCTV.com

03-09-2009 16:51

The wellbeing of the people is one of the major topics at the current NPC and CPPCC sessions. It covers issues such as employment, healthcare and housing. In Beijing, the municipal government has proposed the construction of 8.5-million square meters of guaranteed housing this year. These include affordable housing, price-capped houses and low-rent homes. But will the move put some consumers off the commercial housing market, and worsen the already gloomy property situation?

The wellbeing of the people is one of the major topics at  the current NPC and CPPCC sessions.

The Beijing Municipal Construction Committee says the local government will release 42-thousand units of guaranteed housing this year. More than 22-thousand of them are affordable houses, while the rest are price-limited houses. In addition, another 13 million units of guaranteed housing that started construction in 2007 and 2008 will enter the market over the next two years.

Sales of Beijing's forward delivery housing were down nearly 40 percent year-on-year in 2008. Based on the speed of last year's sales, the current stockpile of commercial housing will be sold out in nearly two years.

Insiders say the government will likely lower the threshold for purchasing guaranteed housing to digest its stockpile as well, further affecting nearby commercial housing sales. 　　

Zhu Zhongyi, Vice Chairman of China Real Estate Association says, "price-limited housing and the market are inseparable. The increasing supply of price-limited housing will definitely squeeze the market share."

But most property developers aren't worried about the situation. They say price-capped housing and commercial housing are different categories of products. The target consumers for the former group are mainly those with medium and low incomes. Those consumers are not major targets for commercial housing.

But the declining prices of commercial houses have shown up price-limited housing. Many people are turning away from the market, as they are worried about further price drops in nearby commercial housing.

Local authorities say demand still exceeds supply in the price-limited housing market. And they enjoy more preferential prices than nearby commercial houses.

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Editor:Qin Yongjing