Affordable housing locations disappoint
- Source: Global Times
- [15:09 August 18 2010]
- Comments
According to media reports, Shanghai is looking to follow the example of some other cities such as Lanzhou, Wuhan and Xi'an, where the local governments have begun to purchase apartments in newly-built commercial residential compounds in the city centers to sell at a discount on their affordable housing schemes.
Analyst Xue Jianxiong from E-house?Real Estate Research Institute?told the Global Times that the number of such apartments would be very limited.
"Shanghai now has almost 10 million people living inside the outer ring road, while the Shanghai government planned for that figure to be only 8 million," Xue said. "I know some affordable houses will be located inside the outer ring road, but I estimate it will only be a few hundred."
Xuhui and Minhang districts became the first in Shanghai to open the application process for their affordable housing schemes. Most of the affordable housing for both districts is located outside of the outer ring road. In total, 2,666 families have so far successfully applied.
Luwan and Jing'an districts have chosen sites for their affordable housing schemes, all of which will be located in Pudong New Area.
Xue added that mixing a large number of affordable houses in with regular or even high-end properties would drive down overall prices, making it hard to attract investors.
Xue's opinion is also echoed by Zhou Xiongying, deputy director of Xuhui Housing Support and Building Administration Bureau. "Technically, affordable housing can be built anywhere, but Shanghai differs from cities like Lanzhou and Wuhan, as its economic development is much faster, which is reflected in its house prices," Zhou said.
He added that it is hard to balance demand for affordable housing with those of the wider market.
