(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-06-15 14:25

"If the housing prices in Shenzhen remain high, I might not be able to work hereanymore," complained a white collar worker surnamed Ye, who was interviewed by a reporter with the ChinaEconomicsTimes on June 7.

Ye said his salary is 5,000 yuan (US$655.7) per month, which is not bad compared to other cities. But if he wants to purchase a 90 square-meter apartment in Shenzhen, he would have to work the rest of his life to pay the mortgage.

In the first quarter of 2007, housing prices in Shenzhen saw a 10.3 percentyear-on-yearincrease, which is the highest in China, according a joint research by theNational Development and Reform Commissionand the National Bureau of Statistics.

The high housing prices make Ye very concerned about his future. He told the reporter he needs to seriously consider if he should stay in Shenzhen or not. In fact, this is not an individual case, as more and more Shenzhen residents believe the expensive housing prices are the biggest financial pressure on them.

According to Ye, Shenzhen's housing price increase was mainly driven by business investment, and the wealthy buy too many houses for investment, not for their own use.

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Wang Ge, vice general manger of CITIC Shenzhen (Group) Company, said there are two main reasons for the high housing prices. The first is that the government's control policies are not working very well; and second is that different locations have different degrees of housing price increases. In addition, lots of buyers from other cities come to Shenzhen to purchase houses, also prompting the rise in housing prices.

Li Wenjie, regional manager of Centaline Property Limited, believes Beijing and Shanghai will follow the increasing price trend in Shenzhen.