Housing Sector to Grow at Annual 7 PercentChina expects to build houses ranging between 486 million square metres to 549 million square metres in floor space annually in the first 20 years in the 21st century, with investment to grow at an annual increase of 7 percent.According to Xie Jiajin, director in charge of real estate development department under the Ministry of Construction, massive housing construction and increasing housing sales has spurred China's economic development, which is becoming a major focus of consumer spending. China has so far maintained a rational and stable real estate development, and the market with ordinary housing construction as the pillar has started to pick up. And housing construction continues to expand and sales continue to grow, which has characterized the present real estate market, the official added. She said that the country is launching massive housing projects, building 410 million square meters of floor space in 1999 with investment totaling 401 billion yuan, up 19.6 percent and 11 percent, respectively, over the 1998 figures. The official noted that the implementation of the housing reform, which means selling houses to citizens instead of allocating houses to them as material benefits, has played important roles in developing housing markets. In addition, the country has done a lot to stimulate individual housing spending and launch mortgage-loan services for homebuyers. And a housing fund-raising system targeted at helping buyers has been effectively instituted nationwide. |
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