To attract talents and target residents and professionals at different income levels, Shenzhen is striving to put in place a housing system that ensures supply through multiple sources and provides housing support through multiple channels, the city’s housing authorities said at a news conference yesterday.
The city is also planning to divide housing into three categories, namely, commercial residential housing, government-subsidized housing and public rental housing, accounting for 40 percent, 40 percent and 20 percent of the housing supply respectively, according to a proposal drafted by the municipal government.
It has also pointed out that Shenzhen will continue to strictly regulate and control the real estate market in order to meet demand for residential housing.
Of the government-subsidized housing, homes for talents and affordable commercial housing each account for half, and both are available for purchase and rent.
The government-subsidized housing for talents will be no more than 90 square meters per unit, which will be priced at about 60 percent of the market price for an apartment of the same size. The floor space of each affordable commercial apartment will not exceed 70 square meters and will be sold at 50 percent of its market price.
In addition to middle- and low-income residents, staffers who provide basic public services to society, such as bus drivers, subway drivers and sanitation workers, as well as workers in advanced manufacturing, are also qualified to apply for public rental housing.
Considering the demand for property by the future population, Shenzhen is planning to build 1.7 million housing units by 2035.
Among these, the total number of units for talents, low-income families and public rental housing will be no less than a million.
The current housing system is in urgent need of reform, according to the city’s housing authorities. By the end of 2017, the city had a permanent population of 12.53 million.
The permanent population is expected to reach 18 million by 2035, an increase of 5.5 million, prompting a need for about 1.8 million new housing units.
The city is soliciting public opinions on the proposal. Citizens can submit their suggestions via the official website of the bureau, http://www.szjs.gov.cn, before 6 p.m. June 19.
