china economic weekly

Unaffordable Land

China Economic Weekly

January 24, 2011

Apart from big cities like Beijing, the land value in the second and third tier cities rose rapidly in 2010. According to an investigation made by the think tank affiliated to China Economic Weekly, for land with the highest price in 28 major cities, the verage land value has exceeded 10,000 yuan ($1,516) per square meter.

With the soaring land value, the housing price is skyrocketing. However, although people want to buy houses, most cannot afford to do so. A report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said that 85 percent of Chinese families are unable to buy a house.

To curb the land value from rising irrationally, and curb the skyrocketing housing price in turn, Li Xiaolin, the president of a domestic real estate company, said that the situation where local governments receive revenue from selling land should be changed.