China boosts land
and housing development
China Housing & Land Development,
Inc., today reported a favorable new policy from the Xi'an municipal government
that should help continue the growth rate of the Xi'an housing market by making
homes more available and more affordable for Xi'an citizens and by providing
support and improvements to the real estate developers.
The Xi'an municipal government's
new policy consists of three broad actions, which will be in effect from now
through the end of 2009. First, the Xi'an government is providing subsidy
discounts to consumers for housing purchases that will vary according primarily
to the size of the home. Buyers will receive subsidy discounts on their purchase
prices, scaling from a 1.5 percent subsidy on small homes, 1.0 percent on
medium homes, and 0.5 percent for larger the homes.
Second, the Xi'an city government is relaxing the qualifications for resident
housing loan applications, increasing the amount of RMB available for each
loan, and reducing the interest rates on those loans.
And third, real estate
developers will be able to receive subsidies and support on loans and land
rights purchases, reductions in fees and taxes, and streamlined project planning,
approval, and oversight processes by the city.
Mr. Pingji Lu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Housing &
Land Development, Inc., said, "The Xi'an municipal government has taken
prudent actions to support the continued growth in the Xi'an real estate development
market through next year. The benefits from the added stimulus are expected
to be reinforced housing demand due to better buying power for home buyers
through attractive prices, payment terms, and interest rates. The result should
be continuing strong growth in the real estate development market and in the
tax and fee income it generates for Xi'an.
"In our second quarter earnings conference call, we mentioned that the city's economic growth rate in the second quarter 2008 was 16 percent over the second quarter of 2007; housing prices were up about 7.5 percent in the second quarter 2008 over the first quarter of 2008; and while the real estate transaction volume was off 26 percent in the second quarter 2008 from the second quarter 2007, the transaction volume between the first quarter and second quarter of 2008 was up 16 percent sequentially.
"We expect to benefit
directly from the reinforced consumer demand and from the new real estate
development allowances and process changes, especially in our Tsining JunJing
II housing project now under construction, and in one of our Baqiao projects,
Oriental Venice Town I, which is expected to begin pre-sales during 2009.
The additional stimulus is a welcome boost to Xi'an's real estate development
market through this year and next."
About China Housing & Land Development, Inc.
Based in Xi'an, the capital city of China's Shaanxi province, China Housing & Land Development, Inc., is a leading developer of residential and commercial properties in northwest China. China Housing has been engaged in land acquisition, development, and management, including the sales of residential and commercial real estate properties through its wholly-owned subsidiary in China, since 1992.
China Housing & Land
Development is the first and only Chinese real estate development company
traded on NASDAQ.
By leveraging its strong relationships with China's local state authorities,
China Housing & Land Development has been able to capitalize on the supply
of available land and develop residential and commercial properties, further
increase China Housing's brand recognition, and outperform its competitors
in medium size residential and commercial real estate developments in greater
Xi'an.
Safe Harbor
This news release may contain forward-looking information about China Housing
& Land Development, Inc., which is covered under the safe harbor for forward-looking
statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such
as believe, expect, may, will, should, project, plan, seek, intend, or anticipate
or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and include discussions
of strategy, and statements about industry trends and China Housing &
Land Development's future performance, operations, and products.
Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Actual performance results may vary significantly from expectations and projections. Further information regarding this and other risk factors are contained in China Housing & Land Development, Inc.'s public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this news release and in any attachments is as of the date of the release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.
China Housing & Land Development news releases, project information, photographs, and more are available on the internet at www.chldinc.com.
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