Education Drives Location in Beijing Home Market – Today’s China Real Estate Links | December 10, 2013

Here is a list of the day’s latest China real estate news collected from around the web:

• Education Drives Location in Beijing Home Market

  Zhong Jian and his wife are willing to pay double the going rate for a tiny home in a Beijing neighbourhood so their 18-month-old daughter will be eligible to attend a top primary school nearby.

  Because public primary schools in many Chinese cities have to admit children who live locally, parents like Zhong are driving up property prices in areas that have the most popular schools. The trend is set to accelerate with a baby boom expected after China eased its one-child policy last month.

  “I don’t have a choice. I want the best education for my daughter and this is the only way,” said Zhong, who has hunted in the alleyways near the Beijing No.2 Experimental Primary School for six months without any luck.

• China loosens grip on interest rates

  The central bank has said it will allow banks to trade deposits with each other from Monday, using a financial product called certificates of deposit.

  The interest rate on the certificates will be determined by the market, unlike ordinary deposits, which are subject to rate caps in China.

  The move is also likely to help improve cash circulation in interbank market.
  In June, the overnight lending rate between banks jumped to exceed 25% at one point as banks became reluctant to lend to each other amid a cash crunch, before falling in subsequent days.

• China sees 2011-15 retail sales growth target as achievable

  China is on track to achieve its target of boosting retail sales by an annual average 14 percent between 2011 and 2015, even amid a modest slowdown in growth this year, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said in remarks published on Monday.

  Retail sales are likely to grow 13 percent in 2013, slowing from the annual average rise of 15.7 percent in the previous two years, due to weaker household incomes and a crackdown on official extravagance, Gao said in comments published on the ministry’s website, www.mofcom.gov.cn.

• Integrating Realty Registration to Fight Corruption

  This is a good policy. If it can be implemented this year, housing prices will drop immediately.” This Weibo post on the evening of November 20 by Pan Shiyi, CEO of SOHO China, a leading Chinese real estate company, quickly went viral on the Internet and was also cited by media reports. Among the 16 million followers of Pan, many are from the media.

  The policy mentioned by Pan is the “unified realty registration system.” An executive meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on November 20 decided to integrate the responsibilities of realty registration into one department and establish a single information-sharing platform.

• Soufun upsizes bond issue by 40% to $350 million

  Soufun Holding, the US-listed Chinese operator of a real estate internet portal, was able to upsize its convertible bond issue last week by $100 million to a total of $350 million, suggesting a continued strong demand for Chinese internet companies despite a recent pull-back in certain names.

  The deal, which was completed early on Thursday morning Asia time after a near 24-hour marketing period, is the fourth CB from a major Chinese internet company listed in the US in the past few months.

This list is updated daily, so tune in again tomorrow for more up to date information.

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