Buying a house for most of the people is a once in a lifetime
decision, which means people decide to do so only after coming
across the ideal house. Surprisingly, eight in every 10 home buyers
are unhappy with their houses.
A survey conducted by the Beijing Consumers' Association (BCA)
recently shows about 80 percent of the 2,315 respondents in 23
residential complexes of Beijing are dissatisfied with the soaring
house prices.
They think the reasonable price in Beijing should be between
3,000 yuan (US$388) and 7,000 yuan (US$906) per square meter.
The quality of the buildings, the surrounding environment and
traffic and property management are the other factors that play a
role in people's decision to buy a house.
The BCA has suggested strict sales regulations and contracts to
ease house-owners' sufferings. It has urged the authorities to
impose severe punishment on developers found violating building and
other rules and joining hands with others to bid up property
prices.
About 41.2 percent of the respondents have complained that their
houses have defective designs, while nearly 40 percent say the
lighting and ventilation are far from satisfactory.
The landscapes in the residential areas are a source of
unhappiness for 43.2 percent of the respondents, and about
one-third say they were "bluffed" into buying "third grade"
houses.
And more than half are not satisfied with the sport and
entertainment facilities in their residential complexes and
neighborhoods.
Property management in the buildings, 56.5 percent of the
respondents say, is below standard compared to the high fee charged
by the complexes.
A whopping 60 percent of the consumers doubt the contents of
developers' advertisements, with only 6.3 percent being
satisfied.
Experts have suggested consumers gather thorough knowledge about
a developer and their work before deciding to buy a house from it.
They should check the day-light conditions and ventilation in
different weather conditions in advance, if possible.
The average lifespan of a house in China is 50 years when it
could reach 80 in some European countries such as Switzerland and
Norway, and up to 132 years in others like England.
"I checked more than 50 residential complexes in over 30 cities
in China and found that almost 95 percent of the new designs
proposed last year had high construction standards. But more than
half of the finished buildings didn't meet that standard," said
Zhou Leijian, an expert from Ministry of Construction.
"Therefore, we should pay more attention to the process of
construction, and guarantee the quality of building materials to
have high quality houses that satisfy the consumers," Zhou
said.
(China Daily April 9, 2007)