Wenzhou speculators find new profit twist

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-24 10:30

Real estate speculators from Wenzhou who poured funds into Shanghai and helped drive up local property prices to record highs are now selling some of their apartments at deep discounts.

But they're not pulling out completely. Some of these entrepreneurs from the Zhejiang city famous for its wealthy private business people have found a new way to exploit the local property market.

They're using the proceeds of their sales as loan capital, offering cash-strapped developers quick credit at exorbitant interest rates and with severe penalties for nonpayment, a magazine reported in its latest issue.

Wang Hao, a property investor from Wenzhou, told Oriental Outlook that he plans to sell the 63 apartments he owns in the city.

Wang, who used to run a small lighter workshop in Wenzhou, has raised more than 100 million yuan (US$14.5 million) for speculation since 2002. He and his family once owned hundreds of Shanghai apartments but have sold most off over the years as prices have gone up and down.

In the second half of 2007, Shanghai's soaring housing prices began to drop as a result of the economic downturn. Things got worse in October when the state issued new housing policies that were favorable for owner-occupants and low-income families but unfavorable for speculators.

Wang told the magazine that the time for housing speculation has ended. He has sold several properties at up to 30 percent discounts, as his Wenzhou peers and speculators from foreign countries were also busy putting their holdings on the market.

But Wang and other Wenzhou speculators found a new way to make money in real estate. After raising funds from the sale of their property, they plan to lend money to developers who are short of cash flow.

The deal will require the developers to hand over the deeds to apartments as full collateral for a mortgage written for only half the property's value. The loan term will be for six months, and a 9 percent monthly interest rate will kick in if the loan is not repaid on time.

Developers who can't pay the loan will lose their property, and Wang and the others will walk away with a major bargain. After all, Wang said, housing prices won't lose 50 percent in six months.