With the home price rocketing in China, many citizens have given
up the housing provident fund that was supposed to be an effective
way for low and medium-level income earners to obtain mortgage.
The Beijing Times reported about 20 billion yuan
(US$2.56billion) in housing funds are idle, according to a source
from the Beijing Housing Fund Management Center.
The usage of the housing fund reached only 64.2 percent in 2006,
a low percentage compared with 80 percent in the past.
The reason behind the housing fund's idle use is due to the low
threshold of single-home loans for up to 400,000 yuan (US$51,282).
The report said the figure could only account for little in the
home price.
On the other hand, a survey conducted by focus.com, a leading
domestic website on real estate, said 80 percent of those
interviewed indicated their budgets for home purchase were likely
to exceed 500,000 yuan (US$64,102).
Most respondents suggested the low threshold be increased and 66
percent of the surveyed said the threshold should rise to at least
600,000 yuan.
Beijing residents have set aside housing funds that have
amounted to 113 billion yuan up until now. A total of 53 billion
yuan has been extracted, with a balance of about 60 billion yuan
still remaining in the fund. ??
(CRIENGLISH.com March 17, 2007)