December 18, 2007
The lead headline of today’s Southern Metropolis Daily reads: “The price of housing in Guangzhou plummets 1,000 yuan.” According to statistical data from the Guangzhou Land Resource and Real Estate Management Bureau, this is a 9.9% decrease. Total trading volume dropped 41.4%, and the price of land also returnd to 2006 levels. The Guangzhou government has published new income requirements for affordable housing purchases: applicants for affordable housing must have an annual income below 100,000 yuan.
The second headline is also about real estate: the depressed property market in Shenzhen. Buyers are holding on to their money and renting rather than buying, causing rents to rise rapidly in some rural areas engulfed by the city.
The front page photo shows a workshop that collapsed in Zengcheng, Guangzhou. Eighteen workers were on the job when the 1,700 square meter roof fell down, killing one and injuring ten. The cause is still under investigation.