<p>Interesting, an all stated income market with a high of $1579 / sq. ft. is now in freefall...... makes ours look tame by comparison</p>
<p>Beijing Leads the Housing Price Drop </p>
<p><a href="http://www.chinastakes.com/story.aspx?id=155">http://www.chinastakes.com/story.aspx?id=155</a></p>
<p>The report pointed out that, since September last year, the government had picked up its adjustment on the housing market, and after that the trading volume of houses decreased dramatically. Last December, housing prices went down by 17% in Beijing compared with that of previous month. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Furthermore, an earlier survey by the institution shows that 53.61% of interviewees held the “wait and see” attitude, with only 1.57% (lowest rate in recent years) of buyers claiming that they purchased houses as a short term investment.</p>
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<p>Buying Into China's Land Rush</p>
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120061688989099229.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_weekendjournal">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120061688989099229.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_weekendjournal</a></p>
<p>And since the government owns all the land in China, real-estate purchases are technically very long-term leases, usually up to 70 years.</p>
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<p>Quote from an old link (<a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/795070.html">http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/795070.html</a>)</p>
<p>New apartments north of Shanghai's famous Bund waterfront are selling for a record $17,000 per square meter.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Because China lacks a comprehensive credit data system, borrowers often qualify for loans using false information, Yi says. He thinks the quality of property loans in China might be worse than the risky mortgages that are causing so much trouble in the U.S. </p>
<p>"I estimate that the large majority of mortgage holders would not meet the standards for even subprime loans," Yi said in an interview with the state-run magazine Oriental Outlook.</p>
