House rents soar for Beijing Olympics
(cctv.com)
Updated: 2007-12-20 14:29
With the Beijing Olympics approaching, hotels in the city have already set their prices for the Games. And so have residents who want to rent out their homes, with some renting for one thousand yuan a day.
An Olympic website offering homes for rent began accepting bookings half a month ago. Many are luxury apartments and residential houses. There are some 200 suites available on their website.
Tong Xiaoqing, GM of Olympic Homtel said "Rents differ by type of home and area. Daily rent for a one-bedroom can go up to 1500 yuan. A two-bedroom is about 50 percent more expensive. And a three-bedroom is another 20 percent more."
Homes for rent near the Olympic stadiums are even more expensive. Agents say some homeowners have set their expectations too high.
Tong said "We understand that homeowners expect higher incomes. But we have certain standards, and we suggest they follow our guidelines. If their asking price is too high, the homes are difficult to lease."
According to the website, most viewers are just inquiring about prices right now. Currently, only ten percent of the homes on Olympic Homtel are booked. But the demand is expected to increase as more Olympic tickets are sold.
