Less rural residents are planning to buy houses in the near
future, a survey released by the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's
central bank, on Wednesday.
The survey conducted by the bank among rural depositors shows
that 18.2 percent of rural residents, a record-low figure, are
intending to buy houses in the coming three months, down one and
3.8 percentage points from the last quarter and the same period of
last year respectively.
Among the seven cities in the survey, the number of residents
planning to buy houses in Beijing, Shanghai and
Tianjin witnessed a dramatic drop.
Last year, after the enforcement of a series of macro-control
measures, the soaring house prices in some Chinese cities is under
control to some extent.
The survey shows that residents are more cautious in their daily
consumption, due to some uncertainties about the future and the
cooling of overheated consumption of houses and cars.
Saving for children's education is ranked at the top of
residents' saving incentives, followed by saving for old age,
housing and unexpected accidents.
The consumption of houses and cars is cooling down in China
after the frenzy from 2002 to 2004. About 9.8 percent of residents
are considering purchasing cars in the next three months, 0.1 and
0.5 percent down from the last quarter and the same period of last
year respectively.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2006)