Sunday, December 12, 2010

Homes out of reach for 85% of Chinese, Central Bank raises reserves again

85pc of urban Chinese cannot afford to buy a home as inflation accelerates

Official statistics showed on Friday that prices in 70 major cities had recorded their third straight month-on-month rise in November, rising 0.3pc on the previous month and at an annual rate of 7.7pc.
"Property prices are likely to remain high for a while," predicted Matthew Fang, an analyst at Guosen Securities, adding that demand was still strong and that inflation was rising.

Demand is still strong? From the remaining 15% of the population, I suppose. How many homes do they need, each? And who are they going to sell them to? In the middle of the bubble everyone somehow forgets that the future price is based on the existence of a future buyer.

According to its figures, new homes in seven out of the 35 cities were more than 50pc over their fair value. Property prices in Fuzhou are 70pc too expensive, while those in Hangzhou are 66pc overpriced. New homes in Shanghai are 37pc overpriced and those in Beijing are almost 50pc overpriced.

On a related note, looks like China's central bank wimped out on raising rates and instead raised reserve requirements again.

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