Can you afford a house?
By Simon1223
@Simon1223 (903)
China
September 15, 2009 12:39am CST
I'm a guy live in Shanghai, the largest city of China. These years the housing price here has increased very rapidly, regardless of the financial crisis last year. Compared to the situation five years ago, the price has quintupled, even decupled. In the meantime, the income has just increased a little. Buying a house has been a heavy burden to many middle class families, let alone those low-income families. The housing issue has become a focus of social issue. So how about this issue in your country? Do you think the housing price is reasonable? Can you afford a house?
I'm expecting your answers and opinions.
1 person likes this
1 response
@thyst07 (2079)
• United States
15 Sep 09
There's been a similar problem in the United States, at least in certain areas. The city I live in has a very inflated housing market. The houses are so expensive, there's no way we'll ever be able to afford to own a house here. We will be moving to a different state when my husband and I are both finished with college.
I don't know how things are in China, but in the U.S. the mortgage industry has been a big problem in the past few years. Banks have given people really large home mortgages with high interest rates that people can't afford to continue paying a few years down the road. Foreclosures have been happening all over the place. In some places, that's actually made houses cheaper, but not where I live.
@Simon1223 (903)
• China
15 Sep 09
hi thyst07
One of the reasons why housing prices rise rapidly here is that many wealthy people regard buying houses as a kind of investment or speculation. They could get mortgages from banks very easily. Then they rent the houses to others and sell them before long. Their frequent transactions add fuel to the flames of housing price. The government has taken various methods to restrict speculation by means of increasing transaction costs, but the outcome is disappointing. Those speculators shift such costs to the price, which aggravates the situation.
Sometimes I also consider moving to other cities where the houses are cheaper. But the situation in China is quite different from that in US. The social security system here is regional instead of nationwide, which means I couldn't shift the fund I contributed to the new place.
