Shanghai plans to lower the threshold for the presale of budget homes and those for the relocated, with the presales expected to start on a trial basis in the first half of this year, according to the Shanghai Housing and Land Resources Administrative Bureau yesterday.
This year, construction will start on 10 million square meters of properties in 14 districts and counties for those relocated due to urban construction, and another 10 million square meters of mid- and low-priced homes in 11 local districts and counties. By the end of last month, construction had been started on nearly three million square meters of properties for the relocated.
The construction adheres to the principals of a high standard of design and practicality. More than 70 percent of such apartments will have two bedrooms and one living room; 25 percent will have one bedroom and one living room with an area of about 50 square meters; only a small number of these apartments will have three bedrooms and one living room with an area of 90 square meters.
Shanghai will accelerate the presale of these properties. Last year, the city lowered the requirements for preselling housing for the relocated, and for projects with government approval and having more than 25 percent of its construction completed, were allowed for presale.
The city will further lower the requirements to presell such properties this year, with the budget apartments to be presold after relocation is completed and pile driving on the new properties has begun.
Local families allowed to apply for the mid- and low-priced housing should meet the following requirements: both the household disposable income and residential area per capita must be lower than the standard issued by the local government; they must meet the permanent residence requirement; no family members can have purchased properties or enjoyed local preferential housing policies.