Ten years too long to fix property market

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-10 10:48

According to Wang Hongju, mayor of Chongqing, young people in his city will be able to buy their dream home in only 10 years. Officials with the Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Development also painted a similarly rosy picture: two-thirds of Chinese families will move into new houses within 10 years.

At a time when housing prices are hovering at sky-high levels and many cannot afford to buy homes, such overconfident statements fail to address immediate housing problems.

In Beijing, the average housing prices within and outside the Fourth Ring Road were 7,795 yuan and 3,971 yuan per sq m in the first quarter of 2005. Four years later, rates had soared to 19,109 yuan and 17,205 yuan.

China's real estate market suffered though when in 2008, due to the financial meltdown, the price of housing fell by almost half in some places.

Since 2009, however, the property market has rebounded as a result of support from the local government and marketing strategies from developers, as well as the economic stimulus package. But it seems the results exceeded public expectations because home seekers are now faced with irrationally high prices and a lack of government measures to curb the situation.

Some local governments have promised to solve the housing difficulties for ordinary people, but are slow in pushing for welfare housing. Others are keen to profit from selling land and have turned a blind eye to profit-driven developers.

The most important thing now is to crack down on the many irregularities in the housing sector and end the collaboration between officials and developers. This should eliminate corruption. Pushing for tangible results will create an open environment for the market and convince the public of the government's determination to resolve this issue.

A 10-year goal is too distant. We need results today.

Wu Dingping

(The article first appeared on xinhuanet.com on Nov 8.)