| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| LA Times: Housing Bubble in Shanghai? |
| 2006-01-09 |
| Posted by:Phil |
| #6 gromky: When you buy a place, you're buying BARE WALLS AND CONCRETE. This doesn't always apply. The luxury condos being sold at relatively steep prices in Shanghai are probably finished. For expensive developments like those featured in the article, this is becoming more and more the trend. Purchases of existing condos (as opposed to new ones) often includes appliances and furniture. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-01-09 20:20 |
| #5 I should also mention, as a point of fact, that any Chinese apartment/condo complex is uninhabitable when it is built. When you buy a place, you're buying BARE WALLS AND CONCRETE. No toilets, no fixtures, no nothing. It takes two years to move in. Seriously. If there is some miracle, and you can move in before two years, you will enjoy jackhammers, plumbers, and other noisy occupations plying their trade until all the other apartments adjacent to yours are completed. I, personally, have rejected two prospective living spaces based on these criteria. The apartment was great, but the complex was incomplete. I didn't fancy sharing the elevator (with no lights - dark inside) with contractors trying to finish other apartments. |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-01-09 16:47 |
| #4 China doesn't have "purchases". Instead it has "75-year-leases", with codicils to dissuade speculation. For foreigners, anyway. Any smackdowns resulting from a downturn in the market simply represent people who are unable (or unwilling) to grease the appropriate government officials. |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-01-09 16:37 |
| #3 Internet chat rooms recently were abuzz with a story that a Taiwanese man had jumped from the 33rd floor of an apartment tower about 15 miles northeast of downtown. Sounds to me like its almost time to buy. |
| Posted by: Intrinsicpilot 2006-01-09 12:22 |
| #2 If you read the whole article, you'll find that as in other things, there are plenty of Chinese lawyers standing by already. And presumably they can handle the lawsuits cheaper and better than American lawyers. |
| Posted by: Phil 2006-01-09 09:02 |
| #1 For the first time, homeowners here are learning what it means to have an upside-down mortgage — when the value of a home falls below the amount of debt on the property. Recent home buyers are suing to get their money back. Banks are fretting about a wave of default loans. US lawyers are ...... standing by. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-09 06:51 |