英闻天下——147 A Look at Housing in Third-tier Cities

 　　China's real estate market in major cities is warming up, with home prices rising, and more people buying new apartments. However, this is not the case across the country. In smaller cities, real estate agents are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. For more details, here is our reporter Laiming.

 

　　As major Chinese cities continue to record a rebound¹ in home prices, smaller, third-tier cities are being hit hard by a sluggish² market. All over the country, city planners and investors³ are suffering the consequences of overexpansion.

 

　　In east China's Changzhou City, a local apartment agent describes an ongoing⁴ building project on the main street.

 

　　"All the new buildings on both sides of this street are part of the city-planning project. In the next five to six years, the street will be lined by new buildings of unique southern style."

 

　　But investors are already having problems selling the now completed apartments. Many of the buildings have an occupancy rate of less than 30 percent. And in certain cases, it's not uncommon⁵ to see only one unit in an entire building lit up at night.

 

　　According to Changzhou's statistics bureau, the average living space for each local resident is 34.7 square meters, and nearly one-third of local families own multiple apartments. The greatest potential buyers are members of the migrant population, but they are mostly young and manual workers who can hardly afford an apartment in the city.

 

　　Chen Sheng with the China Real Estate Data Academy says investors with assets of more than 10 million yuan are the driving force in the real estate market.

 

　　"The number of investors is vital for the development of the property market. Without them, urban expansion and profitable housing prices cannot be maintained even though the population keeps growing."

 

　　But in the southern city of Haikou, Hainan province, even well-off investors are suffering. In January 2010, businessman Zhang Jianbo from Zhejiang Province bought an apartment for 70,000 yuan per square meter. Now an apartment in the neighborhood is available for less than 50,000 yuan per square meter, a drop of nearly 30 percent.

 

　　Gu Yunchang with the China Real Estate and Housing Research Association says China's property market is going through a polarizing process. The demand for apartments in major cities cannot be fully⁶ accommodated by the limited supply of land resources, while in smaller cities, housing prices have been affected⁷ by an oversupply⁸ of apartments.

 

　　The China Real Estate Information Corporation estimates that the surplus number of apartments in Hainan will last for 10 years, while in Sanya it will last for 24 months, and in Haikou for 50 months.

 

　　Many regional governments rely on urbanization to attract more people to cities and clear the housing stock. But Nie Meisheng with the China Real Estate Chamber⁹ of Commerce says urbanization means more than building of apartments, it also entails¹⁰ providing basic infrastructure¹¹ and related services to provide a better living environment.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Laiming.

1 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

2 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 oversupply   

n.供应过量；v.过度供给

参考例句：

• The market softened because of oversupply.市场因供过于求而疲软。
• Overexpansion of tea fields has led to oversupply.茶园过度扩张，使得市场上逐渐供过于求。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 entails   

使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
• This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。