www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Business / Industries

Splitting up to move on up

By Wu Yiyao in Shanghai (China Daily) Updated: 2016-09-12 06:53

Splitting up to move on up

Potential homebuyers examine a property project model in Yichang, Hubei province, Aug 23, 2016. [Photo/China Daily]

Couples in Beijing and Shanghai are considering divorce to buy a new home as rumors stoke anxiety over rule changes for property purchases

Beijing civil servant Li Zhen and his wife face a difficult decision: The couple may need to divorce to realize their dream of a bigger and nicer home.

If they do not split, at least legally, they may have to pay up to 1 million yuan ($150,000) in income tax if they sell either of their two small apartments, according to the current real estate policy. This would make their plan to upgrade financially impossible.

But if they divorce, with each taking ownership of one property, they could be spared the tax.

Time appears to be against them, too, as the market is rife with speculation that Chinese banks could tighten lending requirements for potential homebuyers, such as demanding higher down payments, from which unmarried people would be exempt.

"I know that if people work out what we're doing they'll despise me and even question my morality," Li said. "But what can we do?"

The Li family is not alone. Many happily married couples in Beijing and Shanghai who have seen house prices soar are facing a similar dilemma.

In Beijing, families with more than one property are required to pay a 20 percent tax on any profit made from a real estate deal. According to the regulations, families can own a maximum of two apartments.

Splitting up to move on up

Potential homebuyers read advertisements at a property expo in Beijing in April. [Photo/China Daily]

Some couples in the capital have also opted to divorce before selling to avoid the tax.

In Shanghai, civil affairs offices have been overwhelmed by couples who want to split up due to concerns over changes to the rules. Their anxiety was compounded on Aug 24 with a rumor that the city was to block divorcees from buying property with a 30 percent down payment within a year of their breakup.

The strategy is to get divorced in the morning, buy a property as a single person (with a down payment of just 30 percent of the full price if it's their first home) in the afternoon, and remarry the next day.

It's a method often used by couples who want a new house but don't want to meet the higher down payment requirement for a second home, which is at least 50 percent.

On Aug 25, the Shanghai housing authority took to social media to dismiss the rumor. Yet that did not prevent more than 130 couples applying for a divorce that day at just one of the city's civil affairs offices, double the daily average, China Economy Weekly reported.

The authority dismissed similar rumors twice in a week in early September, saying that policymakers were not considering changing the polices regarding property purchases.

By Thursday, five social media accounts had been closed permanently for spreading the rumors, with 13 more suspended for about a month. The next day, seven real estate agents were detained on allegations of starting rumors to boost their business.

"People would rather believe the rumor than risk becoming ineligible to buy a home with the current down payment requirement if a limit is placed on property purchases," said Ma Junjie, an agent for Homelink in Shanghai. "It's indeed herd mentality, but for some, to be one of the herd is better than being left behind."

 
Splitting up to move on up
 
Neighboring cities such as Nanjing and Suzhou, where home prices have risen by more than 30 percent year-on-year, have introduced measures to curb speculative buying, including pushing up down payment requirements for second homes and blocking people from applying for mortgages to buy a second or third home if they have not paid off their previous mortgage.

Industry insiders believe the gap between supply and demand is the key factor for the rising property prices.

Gao Jianfeng, a property market analyst at Numora Securities, also said that limits on home purchases only work on a temporary basis.

"In such situations, unless land supply rises significantly, measures to curb soaring home prices won't be very effective," he said.

The residential property market in China is diverging, with some cities struggling to reduce huge inventories and others facing overheated markets.

Albert Lau, CEO of Savills China, said in an interview this year that for lower-tier cities facing pressure to reduce inventory, one key task is to transform the local economy and make the city more attractive to potential buyers.

If a city does not provide enough employment opportunities or attract people to settle there, it won't generate the demand for housing, he said.

Hot Topics

Editor's Picks
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲在线观看免费视频 | 久热香蕉在线视频 | 国产欧美日韩不卡在线播放在线 | 久久在线视频 | 国产玖玖在线观看 | 97在线视频免费观看 | 亚洲成人在线免费观看 | 欧美在线小视频 | 三级大片网站 | 99久久免费看精品国产一区 | 亚洲三级视频在线观看 | 久草视频在线免费播放 | 欧美三级视频在线观看 | 欧美在线视频不卡 | 国产一级精品高清一级毛片 | 久久99亚洲精品久久久久99 | 亚洲一区二区三区四区在线 | 久久精品视频免费在线观看 | 特别福利视频在线观看 | 鲁大师成人精品视频 | 亚洲人成在线播放网站 | 欧美激情国产一区在线不卡 | 国产成人精品999在线观看 | 久热中文字幕在线精品免费 | 成人欧美精品久久久久影院 | 久久网免费 | 久草热久草在线 | 九九九精品 | 国产男女乱淫真视频全程播放 | 欧美在线1 | 韩国免费毛片在线看 | 国产三级日本三级日产三级66 | 欧美日韩一区二区三区在线观看 | 小草青青神马影院 | 在线精品一区二区三区 | 日韩欧美国产精品第一页不卡 | 亚洲成人影院在线 | 一级一片一_级一片一 | 2022男人天堂 | 亚洲综合网在线观看 | 毛片在线免费播放 |