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Unique homes with touch of glamorBy Tan Yingzi (China Daily)Updated: 2007-02-09 11:28 "Many people showed great interest when they knew they could buy the apartments in the Olympic Village," said Liu Shanshan, a sales executive at Dream World 2008. Xing, a middle-aged businessman, said a friend recommended the project to him. "It's not an investment and I will live here with my family," he said. The developer will refurbish the apartments after the Games and buyers cannot move in until June 2009.
Even though the price of 16,800 yuan per square meter is much higher than for similar apartments in comparable areas, which are around 10,000 yuan ($1,250), it seems reasonable and affordable for buyers like Xing. "Many believe an apartment in the Olympic Village cannot be replicated and so is special," the sales executive said. Dream World 2008, located between the Fourth and Fifth North ring roads and just to the south of the Olympic Forest, covers 27.55 hectare (the size of 40 football fields) with 1,800 apartments. Residents will enjoy convenient transportation and ample sports facilities built for the Games. And, of course, the fact that about 16,000 of the world's best athletes will stay in the Village adds glamor to the project. Within a month, the average price has increased by 200 yuan ($12.5) to 17,000 yuan ($2,012) per square meter, and some apartments with better location even fetch 19,000 yuan ($2,300). "Since we will place ads for the next phase of the sale, we expect many more people to come to the sales center," Liu said. In March, the center currently at Beijing International Convention Center will move to a larger place near the construction site. In the recently-issued Blue Book on Beijing's Real Estate Development, some experts warn that soaring house prices in the capital will wane this year and the average price will decrease 20 to 30 percent in two to three years but properties around the Olympic venues may be an exception. "Having the Games in a developing country will greatly boost infrastructure in the host city, which will enhance the value of the real-estate projects near the Olympic venues," said Zhao Tielu, executive deputy general manager of the B.A. Consulting Company, a leading real-estate consulting firm in Beijing. After the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the Koreans witnessed rapid growth in real estate: the average price of the Olympic Villages apartments rocketed to 10 times the original. According to the sales center of Dream World 2008, many South Korean and Japanese real estate agencies have shown interest. "We had to say 'No' to them, because at that time the new regulations on foreigners purchasing property in Beijing had not being released," a salesman said. Last Friday, the new rules on foreigners and foreign organizations buying property in Beijing were announced the main requirements are that they should have been in China for a year and the purchase is not for commercial reasons and since this week, the project has begun to receive foreign customers.
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