Beijing has sufficient land supply for real estate development
and low-income families should have more options in purchasing
residential houses, a senior official with the Beijing Municipal
Commission of Development and Reform told the China Youth
Daily Thursday.?
"With more than 14,410 hectares of land reserved for real estate
development, Beijing's land supply has been adequate for at least
10 years. The land-shortage rumor was fabricated to lift up housing
prices," said Wang Xuepeng, vice director of the commission's
Fixed-Assets Investment Department.
Although housing prices in Beijing have gone up fast, the
municipal government doesn't want to see drastic price
fluctuations. The annual supply of economical apartments for
low-income families will be stabilized at approximately 3 million
square meters so that the housing rights of the needy can be
secured.
In 2004, residential houses with an aggregate area of 67.59
million square meters were under construction. Even though no new
projects are being started between 2005 and 2007, the existing
programs can still create an annual supply of more than 20 million
square meters, much higher than the projected number of 18 million
square meters, Wang said.
As official forecasts have put the population in Beijing in 2020
at 18 million, to make sure that a per capita housing area is 40
square meters by then, an annual supply of 18 million square meters
must be guaranteed, according to earlier reports from the
commission.
Wang also disclosed that no foreign funds have been found
involved in speculative operations in Beijing's residential housing
market.
(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2005)