By Tu Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-23 10:34

Five cities saw a double-digit growth in prices for new homes. Shenzhen led the pack with a 12.3 percent hike, while Beijing witnessed a 10.3 percent increase.  

Eagerness to pay off loans as soon as possible may be a main attitude towards the hike. 

“My first apartment’s monthly payments increased by 20 percent after the bank raised interest rate in 2004, and I will be forced to pay off the debts in advance because of the new interest rates,“ said a girl surnamed Qu. 

She bought a 50 square meter apartment, her second property, near the North Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, with a price of above 8,200 yuan for per square meter. She borrowed a bank loan of 160,000 yuan.

But it seems she is not worried about the hike. “I can add my income with proceeds from stock and fund investments, which can offset the losses.” said she. 

“The possible hike has little impact on my living, because the money is taken from my bank card directly. But yesterday I talked with my wife, and we planed to pay off all loans by the end of this year, then things will be better,” said Mr. Yang, another home buyer.  

“I feel nothing about the possible interest hike, for you still own bank a lot of money. The truth is that when you are heavily in debt, the total amount is unimportant,“ said Zhu Bo, a girl who also bought a 64 square meter apartment near North Four-Ring.  

She loaned 420,000 yuan from the bank, and the monthly payment is 2,983 yuan.  

Zhu Bo is not alone. Many buyers have apathetic attitudes towards the hike. In fact, they are almost numb in some instances.  

“I do not care about interest rates too much. For now, I can only try to pay it,” said Zhang Weide, a teacher in Beijing Union University. He loaned 400,000 yuan and will pay 2,800 yuan monthly for 20 years. “The hike targets all the buyers, and I am not alone.” 

Investors have a different attitude. 

“Increasing interest rates is a macro-control policy by the government. The growth of interest rates is far behind that of housing price, so real estate still can get a good return,” said a sales manager surnamed Zou in an IT company, 

Last year, he bought a 107 square meter apartment in Tongzhou District, east of Beijing, for investment. The housing price increased to 7,000 yuan from 5,000 yuan when he bought.

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